


The Beginning of Hope

by Nahx



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Gore, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Game Spoilers, Yandere Komaeda Nagito
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-14
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-26 07:39:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4995958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nahx/pseuds/Nahx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*ON HIATUS* Trapped on an island with sixteen other students, (Y/N) and the other ultimates are ordered to kill each other as the only means of escape by a psychotic robot teddy bear who has taken over what was supposed to be a fun, relaxing school trip. Now more than ever, the ultimate students must stick together to survive. And what possibilities could ensue when a friendship is born with the somewhat strange white haired boy, or his ahoge haired acquaintance?(Yandere!Nagito x Reader x slight!Hajime)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is also a Reader-insert that I posted on Quotev first. This will probably be updated pretty slowly, since the chapters take a long time to write, but I hope you Nagito and Dangan Ronpa fans out there will enjoy it.

 

 

  
**WARNING: This fanfiction is following the events of 'DanganRonpa 2 Goodbye Despair' almost to a T, which means that there will be large amounts of information revealed that will spoil the game. If you have not finished playing the game or watching someone else play it, I strongly recommend that you do so before reading this story. However, if you do not care about spoiling it for yourself, then feel free to proceed.**

 

Side Note: Please keep in mind that this is a story in which the protagonist looks at Nagito Komaeda in a positive light, and will not look down upon him like the rest of the characters, eventually coming to care for him a great deal. If you are uncomfortable with that, then I suggest leaving now- this is just a what-if scenerio at what might have happened if Nagito had had someone who cared about him.

ALSO- this will be mostly following the dubbed version of the game, besides maybe a few added honorifics here and there. I apologize in advance for those who might have wished for the subbed version. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy!

~


	2. Prologue -Part 1-

 

 _*First Person Point of View*_  
   
   
 When I took it upon myself to dig up all the background information that I could about Hope's Peak Academy in order to learn everything I wanted to know before I enrolled, I thought I was very well prepared. Well, I guess there are some things that, even all the research in the world won't prepare you for.  
  
 Like my entry of Hope's Peak Academy for example.  
  
In order to even be able to attend the school, there were two requirements; one, you must already be a high school student, and two—you must be the very best at what you do. The ones that do get in are called ‘Ultimate’s’. I was able to meet this quota, and so the school managed to scope me out and offer me a position in their ranks; of course, I accepted. However, the school life that I imagined was nothing like the reality.  
  
 One thing I certainly hadn't expected when walking through the fancy double doors of the prestigious Hope's Peak Academy for the first time was falling unconscious upon entry and waking up feeling a strange sort of disconnect, being surrounded by blackness except for the tall, wooden door that stood directly in front of me.  
  
 Another thing that I did not come to expect was that behind that door, sixteen Ultimate students stood around, bickering with each other, panicking, and yelling very loudly. It wasn't long after I arrived that a stuffed rabbit-like thing, apparently named 'Usami' explained that she, our teacher, would take us all on a school trip. As soon as the words had left her, the rabbit waved her wand- which actually looked like a cheap toy one would find when buying a child's costume of a fairy princess- and the walls around us, to our alarm, all came crashing down to reveal a beach environment with a tropical appeal.  
  
 It only heightened everyone's confusion.  
  
 Usami had went on to explain that this 'heart-throbbing school trip' was about making friends and building trust, and basically the purpose was for us to get along. Everyone had mixed feelings about it. Some were excited, some didn't seem to care. There were people who complained, and it seemed like only one person was concerned. I, however...  
  
 ...  
  
 I ended up passing out, which leads things to the present.  
  
...  
  
_"...ey..."_  
  
...  
  
...  
  
_"..re you..alri...?"_  
  
...  
  
...  
  
  _"...Hello?"_  
  
 The voice calling to me was one that I faintly recognized. Slowly opening my eyelids, my gaze was met by green-greyish orbs, which were lit up by the sun reflecting off of them. That's right... He was one of the students. Upon seeing me fully conscious, the boy leaning over me smiled.  
  
 "Hey! Are you alright? I got kind of worried when you passed out."  
  
 He sounded friendly, and I found myself smiling slightly in return.  
  
 "I think I'm fine, though I'm kind of embarrassed that I fainted in front of everyone..." I spoke softly.  
  
 "Ah, it's nothing to be ashamed of! In the position that we're in, it's pretty understandable." His voice had grown serious, but it changed with his next sentence.  
  
 "Besides, you weren't the only one." He chuckled.  
  
 "Ah, well, I guess it's fine if it wasn't just me," I sighed. Fainting was something I'd never done before, let alone in front of my classmates.  
  
 "Oh! Here, let me help you up." The boy reached his hand in front of my face, and I placed my smaller one into his. He gripped it tightly, but not enough to hurt, before pulling me onto my feet with a tug.  
  
 My sneakers practically sunk in the soft sand. I looked at the boy, and he smiled. Now standing upright, I suddenly realized how tall he really was.  
  
 "Ah- I haven't asked yet, have I? May I ask what your name is?" The expression on his face told me he was genuinely curious.  
  
 My feet shifted in the sand; I almost didn't want to introduce myself, because I knew if I did, he would expect me to tell him my Ultimate talent, which I never considered anything special...  
  
 Regardless of my doubts, I shared the information with him anyway.  
  
 "My name is (L/N) (F/N)- 'Ultimate High School Level Researcher'... So, uh...can you tell me your name?"  
  
 He looked a bit...surprised, or perhaps it was amazement...? I couldn't tell which, but either way, he suddenly looked happy for some reason.  
  
 "The Ultimate Researcher you say...? That sounds amazing! If you ever want to show someone your skill, I would be honored to witness it! Oh, and before I forget, I am Komaeda Nagito, and my talent is... well, it's nothing special really, but..."  
  
 He paused, suddenly looking a bit embarrassed.  
  
 "...I'm the 'Ultimate Lucky Student'." He finished with a quiet voice, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.  
  
 Despite his obvious shame, his confession only filled me with curiosity. He was the Ultimate Lucky Student...? Did that mean his luck got him accepted into the school?  
  
 Before I could think about it more, Nagito quickly changed the subject.  
  
 "A-Anyway, now that you're awake, you should come with me so I can introduce you to the others."  
  
 Immediately I began to decline, "Oh, no- you don't have to do that. I'm sure that you have your own things to do, I can probably find everyone by myself--"  
  
 He waved away my concern with a flick of his wrist.  
  
 "It's no trouble at all, really! I want to be able to help out if I can. Oh- unless, you don't want me to..." His face looked a little glum at the possibility, and I made sure to quickly assure him that that wasn't the case, and that I just didn't want to be rude in making him show me around when he could be doing something else.  
  
 "If you really don't mind, then I would actually really appreciate it", I admitted.  
  
 "Great!" Nagito looked at the beach exit before turning back to me, "You ready to meet everyone?"  
   
 "Sure", I nodded, "And is it okay if we talk while we walk?"  
  
 Nagito seemed surprised by this, before his face showed mirth.  
  
 "Of course! I'll lead the way- it would be kind of rude to make everyone wait even longer because I kept distracting you."  
  
 He walked on ahead, his fluffy white hair flowing with the breeze, and the end of his dark green jacket flapping behind him. The sight was slightly mesmerizing, and I found myself unable to look away. Until I realized that the boy was getting a bit too far ahead.  
  
 I quickly followed.  
  
 As we walked around the island to find some people, I decided to finally strike up a conversation.  
  
 "So...you're the Ultimate Lucky Student?" I asked, lightly pressing for details. His lips perked up into a small smile.  
  
 "Yeah, I got chosen to join Hope's Peak Academy when my name got picked out of a lottery, among thousands of other students. It sounds kinda lame, I know." His voice grew a bit more quiet at the end.  
  
 I ran to his side, keeping pace with him, despite his long legs, and shook my head.  
  
 "That's not lame at all! Having your name picked out of a lottery with thousands of other students is pretty amazing. I mean, you really must be lucky to achieve something like that- sure, you can write it off as a coincidence, but I can't see it as anything other than your talent at work!" I spoke confidently, trying to make Nagito understand.  
  
 Luck wasn't a lame talent; not at all. Though whether or not luck truly existed couldn't be proven or dis-proven, I was a firm believer in it thanks to things that happened in the past.  
  
 Nagito turned to face me, another surprised look adorning his features. But slowly, that surprise turned into a closed-eyed smile, before he replied, "Huh... I never thought about it like that. Thank you, (L/N)-chan."  
  
 I turned my head, feeling my face heat up.  
  
 "Oh, i-it's nothing. B-By the way, you don't have to be that formal with me..."  
  
 The boy looked puzzled, before realization dawned on him, and he held his index finger up to his temple with a grin, "Ah, so... (Y/N)-chan, then?" His grin was even brighter when I nodded in confirmation.  
  
 He turned ahead,"We should be getting close to one of the buildings now, so let's go."  
  
 We ended up chatting about various things while we looked for people to be introduced to. Nagito was the type of person who tended to put himself down over a lot of things, but as soon as he began I quickly assured him every time, and told him that he shouldn't beat himself up over things that weren't true. Though I doubt he really believed me, the words of some near stranger, he never argued against me either.  
  
 Finally, when we entered the fairly large super market labeled 'Rocket Punch Market' there were two girls lingering inside.  
  
 A girl with a light pink dress, under what looked like a white apron, long purple hair with uneven bangs and bandages on her left arm spoke as soon as we approached.  
  
 "Um... Hello. My name is Tsumiki Mikan, and... um, I... um...!" She spoke very timidly, before bursting into tears.  
  
 "I-I'm sorry! I-I just always... get so nervous when I try to... th-think of something to say to a new person! Ahh-! but please don't take offense!"  
  
 Seeing the utterly terrified expression on her face, I tried offering her a kind smile.  
  
 "Aha, don't worry about it! I'm (Y/N), (L/N) (Y/N). It's nice to meet you, Mikan." My hand extended towards her in greeting.  
  
 For a moment, Mikan seemed almost stunned, then snapping out of it, she gulped audibly, before slowly, shyly, she put her dainty hand in mine for a handshake, and we shook. After pulling her hand away, the girl started giggling quietly to herself.  
  
 "Uh... So, Nagito, care to help me out a little bit...?" I asked in a whisper while Mikan was distracted.  
  
 The boy snapped his fingers,"Oh, Mikan Tsumiki is the ultimate nurse. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that you should probably try to befriend her; you might need her help. I mean, what if you get injured, or get an infection? You could probably die, you know. I wouldn't want something like that to happen, especially to someone as nice as you, (Y/N)-chan!" He smiled casually.  
  
 My only wonder was; how he could say something morbid like that with a smile on his face...?  
  
  "I, er, suppose you're right..." I said awkwardly, not quite sure how to really respond. It certainly was an odd thing to say, but, somehow I don't think I really minded _that_ much. My old internet friends from before I enrolled in Hope's Peak Academy, used to say some pretty bizarre stuff too, so in a way... I guess I was kinda used to it.  
  
 "A-Ahh! I-I'm sorry for laughing for so long! I-It's just... the thought of having more friends... N-Not that you actually want to be my friend! I'm sorry f-for assuming!" Mikan was panicking, and I tried the best I could to calm her down. I couldn't help but feel bad for her; I mean, how does a person get so stressed over such trivial things?  
  
 After Mikan was somewhat better, I remembered the other girl in the store. I turned around to look for her, and I spotted her while she was busy searching through the shelves of an aisle full of food. This girl had a very... unique style of fashion, with a portion of her black hair twisted into two cones on the top of her head, while the rest was flowing loosely down to her ankles, filled with white, pink, and blue streaks. She was wearing one of those sailor girl uniforms, except the ribbon she wore was a hot pink, and she was wearing mismatched stockings; one pink, and one blue, which were both filled with holes.  
  
 With the way she looked, I got the impression that she was going to be the loud, bubbly type. My suspicions were confirmed as soon as I began to approach.  
  
 "Oh my my! Someone else Ibuki hasn't been introduced to? Alrighty then! My name is I~bu~ki~ Mioda! Haha, I spaced out my words like a pro~ Ibuki is such a musical genius~" She smiled in a smug-like way, and suddenly, her nose seemed longer than it was.  
  
 "Hello Ibuki. It's nice to finally meet you!" I tried to look friendly as I added, "I'm (L/N), (Y/N)."  
  
 "Oohhhh, that's a nice name! So what are you supposed to be?"  
  
 I laughed a bit at her enthusiasm, "Nothing special, really. I'm the Ultimate Researcher, which basically means I'm good at digging up information."  
  
 "Yup! By the way, this energetic girl is the Ultimate Musician. Apparently, she was in an all-girl band that was super popular- their hit single, 'After School Pyonyon Hour sold over one million copies worldwide. Though, she left the band later due to creative differences..." Nagito informed.  
  
 "Creative differences, huh...? I wonder what kind of creative differences..." I wondered aloud, though not loud enough to be heard by anyone but Komaeda.  
  
 "Hmm! Interested, huh?"  
  
 I blinked in surprise. Had she heard me just now?  
  
 "How did you-?" I began, but she just giggled.  
  
 "Ibuki has excellent hearing~" She said with a smirk.  
  
 I couldn't help but sweat-drop.  
  
 The rest of the introductions went by similarly- as in everyone was different and had their own unique personality.  
  
 "You may call me Gundam Tanaka- supreme overlord of ice!"  
  
 "...He's the Ultimate Breeder", Nagito had whispered to me.  
  
 "Name's Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. Don't think I'll be all friendly with you just because you're a girl."  
  
 "Ah, hey! I'm Mahiru. It's nice to meet you, (Y/N)!"  
  
 I met lots of interesting characters so far. Gundam Tanaka, the Ultimate Breeder, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, the Ultimate Yakuza, Mahiru Koizumi, the Ultimate Photographer, Kazuichi Soda, the Ultimate Mechanic, Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician, Mikan Tsumiki, the Ultimate Nurse, Peko Pekoyama, the Ultimate Swordswoman, Hiyoko Sionji, the Ultimate Traditional Dancer, Akane Owari, the Ultimate Gymnast, Nekomaru Nidai, the Ultimate Team Manager, Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer (I was quite jealous of that title), and Nagito Komaeda, the Ultimate Lucky Student.  
  
 My meeting with the Ultimate Cook- 'Chef', I mean, was particularly interesting to say the least.  
  
 Entering the hotel restaurant, there were two people; a somewhat short, plump boy with twisted brown hair wearing white clothes and a red apron and red scarf over them- his eyes were small and black, and he had a very round face. A tiny hat sat on top of his head. Beside him was a girl wearing a black dress with a red ribbon tied to the front. She had brilliant blonde hair with a black sparkly bow resting atop it and icy blue eyes. Despite this, she still looked quite friendly, and seemed to be in deep conversation with the male.  
  
 "So, like I was saying, it would be really great if you could use your mouth to suck out the poison-" The short guy was saying, but then abruptly stopped and turned upon our entry. Catching sight of us, the boy grew a smirk and immediately grabbed my hand the moment I was close enough, gripping it lightly, but firmly with his slightly chubby fingers.  
  
 "Why, hello there." The funny haired guy began in a smooth, low voice.  
  
 "I'm TeruTeru Hanamura, a man who has dedicated himself to making the most refined dishes the world has ever seen. Now then, would you do me the honor of telling me what your name is?" He bent down and lightly kissed the top of my hand for good measure.  
  
 I smiled, but I couldn't help but notice how hot my face felt. TeruTeru wasn't the definition of handsome, though that wasn't to say he was ugly either- there was some sort of strange charm about him, though I couldn't quite tell what it was.  
  
 Before I could even come up with a reply, Komaeda had stepped up beside me, gently placing his hand on my shoulder. There was a bright smile on his face, but I had the feeling that there was a reason behind his sudden actions. Was there something wrong? Was it TeruTeru?  
  
 "Hey TeruTeru, this here is (L/N) (Y/N). (Y/N), TeruTeru here is the Ultimate Cook."  
  
 I knew that when he said the 'finest dishes' he could only be referring to cooking, that or he was a pottery maker or something. "Yeah, I kinda figured it would be something like that after he said the 'finest dishes'. It's nice to meet you, TeruTeru." I let out a chuckle.  
  
 TeruTeru's voice went back to that husky, almost sultry tone.  
  
 "Yes, well, technically the 'Ultimate Cook' is my official title, but I prefer the Ultimate Chef- it has that big city vibe to it, you know? Anyway, I am very delighted to make your acquaintance, (Y/N)~" I nodded in agreement, but on the inside, I was thinking. Something told me, that Mr. Hanamura here was quite the smooth talker.  
  
 "So my dear, what Ultimate talent do you have?"  
  
 "Ah, well I know yours, so it's only fair that you know mine... I'm the Ultimate Researcher."  
  
 The expression he wore changed from a playful smirk to an eager one, and his eyes suddenly seemed a lot bigger.  
  
 "The Ultimate Researcher, huh? That must mean that you do a lot of digging, right?" He asked this anxiously, making me nod my head with uncertainty. What was he getting at?  
  
 "In that case, you must have read all about us. Usually, the average person wouldn't be able to find much personal info about someone over the internet, but for a professional like you, I can only imagine what kinds of dirty little secrets you uncovered." A trickle of blood flowed from his nose as he chuckled to himself.  
  
 My eyes widened a fraction. That must have been why Nagito had stepped in beside me- in his own way, he was trying to shield me from TeruTeru's perverted tendencies.  
  
 "That's not very appropriate TeruTeru", Nagito sighed, shaking his head.  
  
 "Hmmhmmhmm~ you can't blame a guy for fantasizing, can you?" He didn't seem upset at all.  
  
 Nagito's smile was suddenly back, though it was different somehow.  
  
"You better not let me see you try anything~"  
  
 His tone was overly light, but I could detect a dark undertone lacing his words. It was a bit unnerving.  
  
 We left the restaurant after being introduced to Sonia Nevermind, the Ultimate Princess - who I was a bit surprised to find out was an actual princess from a European country that I never heard of - and began heading to Jabberwock Park. Nagito and I walked side by side, though nobody said anything, it was a comfortable silence. After crossing the big wooden bridge to the next island, noticing several blocked off bridges along the way, I decided to speak.  
  
 "There sure seems to be a lot of interesting people on this island", I said thoughtfully.  
  
 The boy shot a grin in my direction, "Yup, and you haven't even met everyone yet! There's about two people left that you haven't been introduced to. Come on!" Komaeda suddenly grabbed a hold of my hand and started running, forcing me to run after him or else risk tripping or being dragged through the sand.  
  
 "Er, wait, K-Komaeda, could you maybe slow down a bit?" The length of his legs certainly were not helping.  
  
 He only laughed and said, "Nope! You're just gonna have to deal with it for a bit longer. And what you said earlier... about me not having to be formal around you? I don't want you to feel like you have to be formal to me either- just call me Nagito."  
  
 "A-Alright, Nagito..." I stuttered, not noticing the slight shiver that went through his spine at being called his first name.  
  
 I couldn't break free of his grip, so I settled with humoring him. I wasn't very athletic, but a long sprint once in a while couldn't be too bad.  
  
 By the time my snow haired companion allowed me to breathe, we were right in front of the opening to a clearing, and a wooden sign sticking out of the ground with the words, 'Jabberwock Park' carved into it.  
  
 I bent over and rested my hands on my knees, taking short and shallow breaths. Nagito turned to me and saw my hunched over form, and began rushing over to me with a concerned look on his face.  
  
 "A-Are you alright...? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you run like that, I just got carried away", he apologized, a guilty expression clouding over him. I held a hand up to stop him, and to tell him to wait for me to finish hyperventilating. Once my breathing was back to normal and my heart wasn't trying to fly out of my chest, my body straightened out, and I looked at Nagito with a genuine smile.  
  
 "Don't worry about it, Ko. I'm fine, really. I just don't get much exercise since I'm a shut-in and all." Despite my words, I was still smiling. Being someone who didn't really leave their home much wasn't something that one would usually be proud of, but to me, it didn't matter. After all, I only stayed in my house because I was too busy looking into various things; I couldn't help myself.  
  
Nagito's eyes landed away from me for some reason, his body still. After not saying anything for several moments, leading me to believe I may have upset him somehow, he speaks up. "I see... is that how you became the Ultimate Researcher? By staying inside and doing tons of research all day?" He asked, his voice portraying his intrigued.  
  
 I nodded. "Something along those lines, but it's probably better to talk about that some other time. We still have people to meet for now."  
  
 Nagito nodded quickly, "Ah, you're right. Sorry for getting distracted."  
  
 I told him it was fine, before turning once again towards the park entrance. No doubt, this was the only place we haven't been to yet, besides the other closed off islands. I held my head up, adventuring into the park, Ko following close behind.

_~_


	3. Prologue -Part 2-

Stepping into the spacious area, the first thing I saw was a large bronze statue of a bunch of animals. They were all different, and I couldn't help but wonder; did they represent something? Besides that, I could make out two figures in the distance, and both of them seemed to be male. Nagito began walking ahead of me, so I started following after him.  
  
 Now that I was closer to the two, it looked like they were conversing. The one on the right was quite large, and wore a white suit with dark green straps under the collar, and white dress pants. His hair was a nice blonde color, and his eyes were also a dark green but looked very intense and calculating. Overall, I couldn't help but feel a sort of intimidation while looking at him.  
  
 The other boy was the polar opposite of the boy beside him when it came to weight; he was slim, and wore a crisp white dress shirt donning a tie that was a dull shade of green with a strange symbol at the end. He had black jeans and his hair was a somewhat dark shade of brown and very spiky, with a large ahoge poking out of the top of his head. His eyes were a light shade of green, almost hazel. Based on his looks, he may very well be a straightforward and honest kind of person.  
  
 "-Anyway, we need more information before we can act. In the meantime, try to stay calm. I'll be investigating the rest of the island soon enough." The blonde haired one said to the brunette, but the latter was definitely still stressed.  
  
 "Byakuya, Hajime! There's someone you need to meet!"  
  
 With a small smile, he gestured behind him, at me.  
  
 They both turned- blondie with an unamused face, ahoge with a surprised one.  
  
 "O-Oh, hey there..." The brunette greeted, his eyes wide and curious. "I'm Hajime Hinata; what's your name?"  
  
 "It's nice to meet you Hajime-kun. I'm (L/N) (Y/N)."  
  
 A gentle smile rose to my lips as he asked, "So you're the ultimate...?"  
  
 "Researcher. It's not that big of a deal compared to a lot of people here though. How about you, Hajime-kun? What's your talent?"  
  
 The boy frowned, opening his mouth, only to be cut off by the other boy.  
  
 "Conveniently, he seems to have forgotten." Blondie said with a tone that made it obvious he didn't believe it for a second.  
  
 "I really don't remember though...!" Hajime protested, but the other boy didn't seem very interested in what he had to say.  
  
 Not wanting to get involved in something that clearly wasn't any of my business, I turned my attention to the larger guy.  
  
 "Oh, well- since you've already heard my name, could I please know yours?"  
  
 He pushed up his spectacles and looked me in the eye, "As Komaeda mentioned, I am Byakuya-- more specifically, Byakuya Togami." There was a trace of arrogance to his voice, and as Nagito came forward with a smile and began to elaborate, I could feel myself turn pale.  
  
 "Byakuya Togami is the Ultimate affluent progeny, or I guess it would be easier to say, 'the ultimate heir'.  Either way, he's a descendant of a family who own a large and influential company called the Togami Corporation." The tall boy spoke in a calm tone while I tried to process this information.  
  
 Ultimate Affluent Progeny was an impressive title, after all. Perhaps it might have been a good idea to investigate the background of each student as well, instead of only learning about the school itself.  
  
 Togami's large build and piercing gaze were only a few things that made him intimidating. It was as if his entire being exuded worth and importance.  
  
 "I see. I didn't realize I was addressing someone with such a high standing. I apologize if my informal way of speaking has offended you in any way." Getting on Byakuya's bad side was the last thing I wanted. I knew how snobby the rich could be, and I wasn't much interested in getting a personal glimpse at the moment.  
  
 "Hmph- your way of speaking is of no concern to me. The only thing that matters is finding out what's going on."  
  
 Even though he was one of the few people who openly expressed his concern, those few being Mahiru, Hajime, and maybe Nagito, I completely agreed. The reason we are on an island instead of Hope's Peak Academy, and how we got here... these were only two of the questions I wanted answers to. It was obvious that something about the whole situation was strange. No, not something... Everything about it was strange.  
  
 "Yeah. Why are we even here in the first place? This just seems too odd." Hajime thought aloud.  
  
 Nagito suddenly joined in, "Well, if what Koizumi-san said is right, as long as we collect the hope fragments, we'll be getting out of here soon. Assuming we can trust what that rabbit says."  
  
 Speaking of rabbits - the one Nagito was referring to suddenly appeared on one of the monitors that seemed to be present in every area, along with a series of 'dings' and 'dongs'. The image of Usami began to speak.  
  
"Congratulations everyone! It seems that you have all collected the hope fragments. I'm..." She sniffled a little, "I'm so happy! Everyone please gather at the beach, I have a present to give all of you that I know will make you all veeery happy! Tee hee hee~ May shining hope be with you all!" The monitor turned black.  
  
 No one moved. Hajime was the first to say something.  
  
 "Are we really gonna go? We have no idea what she's planning. I mean, what if this is a trap?"  
  
 "We don't really have much of a choice, do we? If we don't show up, there's no telling what she could do", Nagito reasoned, and I nodded.  
  
 "I agree. Trying to resist might only make things worse, so for now we should probably do as she says." Everyone but Hajime agreed with what I said, but when we started moving towards the beach on the first island, he reluctantly followed behind.  
  
 The trip was mostly silent. No one bothered to say a word - maybe it was because they didn't feel the need to be alarmed, or maybe they were bracing themselves for whatever lied ahead.  
  
 I felt like I needed to say something, so I turned to Nagito. He walked in long strides, a contented smile on his face; he didn't seem worried at all.  
  
 "Hey, Nagito... What do you think? Is this a trap?"  
  
 His eyes slid to mine, his smile disappearing, a distant, thoughtful expression taking its place.  
  
 "It's hard to say. We really don't know anything about Usami, or who could be controlling it. It seems that they want us to believe them when they tell us that this island is safe, and so far, that seems to be the case. But maybe they really are trying to get us to lower our guard..."  
  
 "I guess you're right. Hopefully we'll learn more after we arrive", I muttered quietly. Hajime wasn't wrong - no matter how you looked at it, none of this made any sense; there was too much that we didn't know.  
  
 When we finally entered the wide beach area, everyone else was already waiting. The rabbit was nowhere in sight.  
  
 "Sorry we're late", Nagito said with a carefree smile.  
  
 "Well then, now that we're all in one place, I would like everyone to report what they found", Byakuya said with a commanding tone.  
  
 "I noticed several blocked off bridges when I traveled to the central island." Peko started off.  
  
 "Oh!" Ibuki suddenly exclaimed, "Those are there so we don't get lost. The bunny told me herself when I tried to get past them, so I'm not lying!"  
  
 "...So we don't get lost... is the island really so big?" Peko questioned, a bit confused.  
  
 The pink haired mechanic folded his arms behind his head with a large, shark-like grin on his face. "But when you look at it, it's just a normal island, right? I mean, it's got a resort and everything! ...Not that I've ever been to one."  
  
 "Also, there's this biiig ranch! And there were lots of Mr. Ants~" Hiyoko exclaimed.  
  
 "Th-There is a fairly large supermarket filled with necessities", Mikan stuttered quietly.  
  
 "The hotel is pretty nice. It would be great if we could stay there". Mahiru looked thoughtful as she said this.  
  
 Sonia piped up with a smile, "The restaurant was nice too- it seemed to cater to a more plebeian taste."  
  
 I'd almost forgotten he was there, but TeruTeru was the next to speak. He put a hand under his chin. "Will you guys listen to what I have to say...? I have made a very important discovery on this island... Girls! Very cute girls, all over the place~" His eyes were large and his nose was bleeding once again.  
  
 "Groooooooss! Ibuki is getting goosebumps!"  
  
 Byakuya looked about ready to face-palm, "Fools... I can't believe no one has mentioned the most serious truth."  
  
 Chiaki tilted her head to the side, her light pink hair falling slightly, "The most serious truth?"  
  
 "If none of you realized it, then you're all bigger fools than I thought." The heir chided.  
  
 Fuyuhiko definitely didn't appreciate that remark. He clenched his fist and angrily shouted, "What did you say, you fat bastard? Don't talk all big and shit!"  
  
 Byakuya merely glanced at him and said something that I honestly had a hard time not laughing at.  
  
 "Small dogs shouldn't bark so loud."  
  
 I awkwardly coughed into my hand instead of laughing, and focused on what the Togami had said. The most serious truth, huh? It was obvious that he knew something about the island that no one else did, and I was curious to find out what that was.  
  
 Nagito stood beside me, that thoughtful look coming over him again, "It seems everyone else has explored the island as well. Usami did say there wasn't any danger, and that does seem to be the case. Byakuya said he found something, though... I wonder what it could be."  
  
 "It must be something strange about the island", I responded.  
  
 Nagito put his finger to his chin, "Perhaps. I suppose we won't know until we ask."  
  
 Hajime's curiosity got the better of him, and so he finally asked, "What did you find? Is it something about the island?"  
  
 Instead of directly answering his question, Byakuya asked another. "Have any of you gone to the park that's across the bridge?"  
  
 "The park with that weird bronze statue with all the animals, right?"  
  
 He nodded slightly.  
  
 "When I saw it, I remembered a story that I heard before. There's an island in the Pacific Ocean, a beautiful paradise where summer never ends... It has a central island surrounded by five different islands. Apparently, five holy animals symbolize each of those surrounding islands."  
  
 "Eh?" Hajime blurted.  
  
 "That island's name is... Jabberwock Island." After the words left his mouth, the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.  
  
 After hearing the heir's explanation, Nagito looked even paler than he did before and uttered, "Could this island be...?"  
  
 "Jabberwock Island..." I muttered. "Then is that this island? If so, that's strange... if this is that island, then why is it...?"  
  
  _Then why is it uninhabited...?_  
  
  "And yet, there is something on my mind. According to what I've heard, Jabberwock Island is already...... Never mind."  
  
 "Hold it -" Nekomaru butted in, "that's a rather incomplete story you've given us."  
  
 "No need to shout. I'll let you know once I obtain more information."  
  
 Akane looked as impassive as ever when she spoke - "Does it really matter what this island's called? Nikoniko Island or Papua Island or whatever... We still gotta live here, right?"  
  
 Ibuki started hopping around excitedly and exclaimed, "Living together on this tropical island sure is exciiiting! I'm super looking forward to it~" And the tense atmosphere was instantly broken.  
  
 Kazuichi made a thumbs up with a large grin.  
  
 "Right on! This ain't a bad school after all!"  
  
 "H-Hold on a second", a pale Hajime tried, but everyone kept talking with enthusiasm.  
  
 "Hmm, I like it too! ... Can't say the same about the rest of you cretins."  
  
 "…Huh? Did someone say something?"  
  
 "I'm still worried, but not as worried as I felt earlier... Yeah, since there's no danger or inconvenience, I feel like this won't be a problem!"  
  
 "Listen to what you guys are saying. We need to stay calm and think about this...! We're all here to attend Hope's Peak Academy, right? But we're living on an island instead... No matter what, it's completely weird!" Hajime once again tried to reason.  
  
 Gundam, who normally has a very strange way of speaking, sounded relatively normal as he told Hajime to go cool his head off, leaving Hajime baffled.  
  
 "Even if we wanted to leave, there's no way we can..." Even TeruTeru was trying to persuade Hajime. But, they were right in a way. As Kazuichi had said before, the planes were all useless, and there weren't any boats to be found. Peko mentioned that there wasn't any way to contact the outside world, which means no one could call for help. The more things that were pointed out, the more confused Hajime seemed.  
  
 Even swimming wouldn't have been possible. And, just as Hajime suggests trying to cut down some trees to build a boat...  
  
 Usami appears from nowhere shouting "You can't do that, that's against the rules if you recall the guidelines of this school trip! ‘Littering is not allowed. Let us coexist with this island's nature in mutual prosperity.' Got it? I want everyone to get along and live peacefully on this beautiful tropical island."  
  
 Hajime shakes his head, "What's with these rules? Who cares about that...!"  
  
 I was about to try and calm Hajime down but Togami beat me to it. "Stop. This rabbit seems to be rather finicky about these so-called rules. Based on that, what if your actions place everyone here in danger?  
  
 This seems to put Usami on edge. "Danger is a bit much! I wouldn't do something like that!"  
  
 I glanced at Nagito as he put his hands up in a defensive manner and a nervous smile to try to get through to Hajime as well.  
  
 "Hajime... I understand how you feel, but you need to calm down a little, okay?"  
  
 I figured it was about time for me to chip in as well. Since Hajime was fairly close to where I was standing, I moved closer to him and gently placed my hand on his shoulder and spoke to him as calmly as I could.  
  
 "I know you want us to be more cautious about this situation, but as it is, there's nothing we can do about it anyway. We can all try to figure out why we're here, and since this place seems safe at the moment, I don't think it's bad to try to relax a bit until we do know what's going on. What do you think?"  
  
 Hajime turned to me with a conflicted face.  
  
 "I...I want to believe that, but how do we know this whole thing isn't just to lure us into a false sense of security?"  
  
 I smiled wryly, "We don't, but if that is the case, then we'll deal with it when the time comes."  
  
 Nagito grinned, "(Y/N)-chan is right. If something dangerous arises, then we'll deal with it when it happens."  
  
 "And as long as we collect the hope fragments, we'll be getting out of here soon." Chiaki rose a finger to her chin as she declared this, but Hajime still seemed indecisive.  
  
 "Anyway, Usami! What's this present you mentioned earlier?"  
  
 "Ah, that's right! Well of course I didn't forget... Love Love! This is it!" Just as the bunny said this, she pulled out what looked like a small keychain, which was a miniature version of herself. "Don't be upset! I've prepared one for you all, so don't worry!" Never being one for small accessories or trinkets, I barely blinked at the item; I wasn't the only one either.  
  
 Nagito stared at the little figure attached to the chain, and his face was void of emotion.  
  
 "...What is this...?" He eventually said, his voice quiet and unfeeling.  
  
 Usami, however, seemed more than happy to answer him. She held her puffy cheeks and laughed like a child. "Pfft, Teehee! It's an Usami strap! If you squeeze the tummy, it talks."  
  
 She ended up doing exactly that in order to demonstrate, and as soon as she did, a recorded voice sounded from the figure that said, _"I'm Usami... Magical Miracle Girl Usami. I'm an itty bitty girl who's sweet like milk!"_  
  
 "Isn't it cute? Love Love!"  
  
 "...What a waste of time." Togami scoffed.  
  
 "Man, and I got my hopes up, too..." Ibuki sighed.  
  
 TeruTeru had his hands balled into fists by his face, "I'm ashamed I even had my hopes up!"  
  
 Chiaki started saying how she thought it was cute because the ears looked like a rabbit's, and Usami just said about how Usami did mean rabbit. Still, a bunch of the straps ended up on the ground anyway. After everyone received their strap, mostly all of them tossed them on the beach without a second thought except for me and Chiaki. I didn't necessarily like the 'present', but I wasn't about to just rudely throw it away either.  
  
 "Hey! You can't taint nature with trash!" Usami exclaimed.  
  
 "See? Even you think they're trash!" Ibuki pointed out.  
  
 Usami then picked up all the straps and looked at us with lonely expression on her face, one that made me feel incredibly guilty even though I still had mine.  
  
 "Ugh... And I even prepared one more present, too, but now I don't wanna give it to you bad kids..."  
  
 "Hm? You have something else?"  
  
 "Well, compared to the Usami strap, it's not that big of a deal... Basically, I've prepared a motive for everyone."  
  
 Hajime looked cautious, "A motive...?"  
  
 "That's right. A motive for everyone to get along. We've all come to a tropical island, so I thought it'd be great to do something island-themed."  
  
 Akane had a wide carefree grin, "Like what? Are you thinkin' of throwin' a big party or somethin'?  
  
 "Coooorrect!"  
  
 Everyone began to chatter excitedly about the party, TeruTeru trying to trick Sonia into doing something dirty, "Miss Sonia... My loins are still full of poison, and I'd appreciate it if you could suck it out with your mouth."  
  
 ...And Nagito, trying to stop him, "Knock it off, TeruTeru!" Though Sonia is completely oblivious and ready to help.  
  
 "Just ignore him, Sonia!"  
  
 Regardless, the excited talk continued, and I noticed that once again, Hajime still looked undecided.  
  
 "Hajime..." I said quietly so only he could hear me, "I know it isn't easy; even I'm having a little bit of trouble, but you should probably try to enjoy yourself for a bit. Being stressed out isn't going to help you either, I'm sure you know..."  
  
 "But..." He let out a long sigh, "I can't help but feel strange about this." I nodded sympathetically, "I know, I think all of us do, but some of us just don't want to admit it."  
  
 As I said that, Usami began talking again. "It seems everyone has different ideas, but if we're gonna be at the ocean, then first..." I'm not sure where, but Usami pulled out tied up bags from somewhere.  
  
 "A swimming bag?" Nagito asked.  
  
 "Correct! Love Love!"  
  
 "Whoaaa! Then that means..." Kazuichi said with anticipation, and Usami nodded vigorously, "That's right. I have swimsuits for everyone. Well, school swimsuits. I hope that's okay."  
  
 Hajime looked ready to protest again, "You're telling us to swim in this situation?!"  
  
 "It's not like I'm ordering you guys to swim, it's just, if you wanna swim, you can..."  
  
 "Th-there's no way! No one would be thoughtless enough to swim in a situation like-  
  
 "YAAHHOOOO!" Ibuki screeched.  
  
  Almost everyone was suddenly on board the swimming idea.  
  
 "I agree! Even my loins agree! See?"  
  
 "You're tenderloins? I understand!" Sonia replied in a confident voice.  
  
 Nagito once again tried to diffuse the situation, "S-Seriously, don't try to understand!"  
  
 A lot of us went to go retrieve our swimsuits. I was about to grab a red bag which symbolized the girls swimsuits, when Nagito passed me a bag. "Oh, thanks." I said, a little surprised that he actually handed me one. I could have gotten it myself after all...  
  
 "No problem! You looked like you wanted to go swimming to, so I thought if you got one faster, than we could spend more time swimming together!" The way he smiled as he said that made me want to believe that his intentions were good.  
  
 "Alright. Even though you don't have to, I hope I see you swimming too, Hajime", I let a small smile on my face as I said it, before turning and running to go change, faintly hearing Nagito say something similar. I made my way to the hotel, choosing a random room and rushing inside. I began shedding the clothes off of my body. Bad situation or no, I was planning on having fun while the peace lasted, because I had this sinking feeling that it wouldn't.  
  
 The swimsuit was all black, and seemed to fit just right as I shrugged it on, which was almost weird if I thought about it too much. It was the perfect size...  
  
 I didn't stick around long enough to dwell on it. As soon as it was on, I hurriedly made my way back outside and back to the beach, arriving around the same time everyone else was. We all ran toward the water, laughing and fooling around. As soon as the ocean was up to my ankles, I stopped to let myself get used to the cold. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for some people.  
  
 A finger tapped on my shoulder making me turn around, just in time to see Nagito in his swim trunks with a light smirk before he tackled me into the water, the cold shocking my body.  
  
 "A-Ahh! Ohh, that's cold!" I gasped and Nagito laughed beside me.  
  
 "You looked like you were never gonna go in, so I thought I'd help you~" He smiled innocently at me, making me growl and try to come up with a plan for revenge.  
  
_Ah! A trick..._  
  
I thought to myself, concealing my evil grin. As I thought up my plan, I decided to put my acting skills to the test. I began going slightly further out, to a part where you couldn't really touch the ocean floor all that well.  
  
 "Oh, oh no..." I said with a shaky voice, my eyes wide with fear. My arms began waving up and down in the water, in a way that looked like I was struggling, "N-Nagito, I went a bit too far out, I-I can't really swim...!" My head was the only thing visible as I moved my limbs wildly, seeing Nagito look at me with a panicked expression.  
  
 "(Y-Y/N)!" He began to swim towards me in powerful strokes, his eyes nervous but determined. As the last step of my trap, I let my head sink below the surface, and a couple seconds later Nagito was right above me, diving under and trying to grab a hold of me. He got close enough that he wrapped his arm around my waist and began swimming toward the surface, my body in tow.  
  
 We both breathed in a gulp of air as we reached the surface, Nagito's usually spread out hair, now soaked and sticking to his head. I laughed quietly at the sight. With a few steady kicks towards the beach, Nagito brought me to a part where the water was shallower. He looked down at me, his face filled with concern.  
  
 "Are you okay...?"  
  
 "Yeah, I'm fine since you pulled me up..." With a relieved sigh, Nagito let go of me and was about to say something, but I cut him off by pouncing on his chest and knocking him into the water.  
  
 "THAT'S for tackling me into freezing cold water!" I laughed as he slowly stood up, dripping everywhere. It only took him a second to react, a scary grin on his lips as he grabbed my shoulders with his cold fingers; I could hear Hajime in the distance shouting for everyone to wait so he could join in. I smiled at that.  
  
  _He's finally decided to relax..._  
  
 And just as I thought that, something peculiar happened. The sky turned grey.  Numerous stormy clouds blocked out the sun, shrouding us in darkness. Everyone looked around in confusion, wondering why the weather was suddenly behaving in this way. Even Usami was in a panic like state. The bad feeling that I had when I came to this island increased tenfold, and increased even more as soon as one of the monitors turned on and showed the silhouette of someone, or _something_.  
  
 No one knew what was coming, but I couldn't help but feel dread upon hearing that _voice._


	4. Prologue -Part 3- (End)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Bows head* I am very sorry for how long it's been. I actually meant to have this up way earlier, but some real life problems got in the way and I kind of forgot about my stories for a while because of it. But I hope this next installment will make up for it a bit, at the very least.

_"Ah...Ah...Mike check, mike check! Ah... Ah, ah! Can you hear me? Can you **hear** me?"  _ The strange cloaked figure spoke in an abnormally cheerful and high pitched voice, one that I couldn't help but immediately despise. Just what was this? _Who_ was this? The mysterious figure continued speaking with his irritating tone.  
  
  _"Puhuhuhu! Were you surprised? You were totally surprised! Right? I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long, but let's all leave this worthless entertainment behind! Now then, it's time for the opening act! You guys better make your way to Jabberwock Park!"_ With that, the transmission ended-- leaving every one of us in a more bewildered state than before.  
  
 Usami had a trace of recognition in her voice as she said to herself, "No... Could it be? W-Why would he be here? Ah... I must do something about this. That's right, I must protect everyone!" Disappearing shortly after saying this, the rest of us stayed behind in confusion, concerned whispers echoed among us as we all reluctantly headed to the central island or on our way to the hotel to change.  
  
 "I have a bad feeling about this..." I muttered to myself, almost flinching when I heard a voice respond.  
  
 "I agree, something doesn't seem right. Even Usami seemed worried." Nagito mumbled close to me, "But even so, we should probably go to the Park as soon as we can. Something tells me, it won't end well if we don't show up."  
  
 Though I didn't want to, I swiftly entered one of the hotel rooms and changed back into my regular comfortable clothes. Even though I tried to be quick about it, there was still enough time for me to entertain various possibilities of what that transmission meant. There was one thing, however, that I kept in my head the whole time.  
  
_'There is no point in panicking_.'  
  
 Even if there was something bad going on, panicking would get us nowhere, and would most likely lead to more problems. Though that did not mean that the matter at hand shouldn't be looked into without exercising caution.  
  
 Those are the thoughts that stayed with me until I ran back outside the building, as prepared as I ever would be to investigate the Park. Only to be surprised by _his_ appearance.  
  
 "Nagito? What are you doing-- you should be heading toward Jabberwock Park." As I said this to him, I noticed he gave me a sort of grim smile. He'd already changed back into his green jacket, black pants and red marked t-shirt.  
  
 "I was waiting for you to change. I would've already been there myself, but I figured that you might want to go there together, since you seemed pretty upset about the whole thing."  
  
 His reasoning was sort of sweet, if you really looked at it. I probably wouldn't say it out loud, but I was a little glad that he thought about that; it was comforting to have someone at your side in tense situations. Plus, so far, Nagito was the one that I've spent the most time with, thus making him the person I was most content to be around.  
  
 "Yeah, thanks. We'd better hurry." I jogged up to him, and we were on our way. We were both quiet the whole time, probably because no one knew what was happening, and the closer we got to the Park, the more uneasiness I felt; something that I was intent on ignoring. The possibilities of what could be lying in wait, the strange figure with a cheerful voice yet thinly veiled malicious undertone... They were things I really didn't want to think about.  
  
 My eyes flickered to the left, almost out of habit, watching Komaeda's slightly tense face. Even though he looked apprehensive, it was only a small change. He didn't look _that_ worried; or maybe that was just a careless observation? Nonetheless, my concentration broke the moment he turned his head to meet my eyes; as if he could sense them, giving me another one of those small smiles. This was also the same moment I realized that we were standing outside of the park entrance.  
  
 "Well, I don't know what's beyond this point, but here's one thing I do know; whatever it is, good or bad, we'll all be facing it together."  
  
 I wasn't sure if it was confidence, or just reassurance, but I accepted it wholeheartedly. I dipped my head in a nod, my vision now focused on the path ahead.  
  
 "Okay."  
  
 With that single word leaving my lips, my body moved forward along with his, towards what would be the beginning of the end.  
   
~  
   
"Where are you? Where are you hiding?!" Usami huffed as she scanned the area for something.  
  
 "W-whose hiding? What are you talking about?" Hajime asked with a fearful look on his face.  
  
 Everyone was waiting for something to happen when we walked in, and so far there was nothing out of the ordinary. Though with the way Usami was acting, I knew that something was bound to happen.  
  
 "If I were to guess, then whoever she's waiting for is probably--"  
  
 As if cutting me off, a strange, high-pitched laugh sounded throughout the park, making it impossible to tell where it came from. All of us began looking around in confusion, wondering where it could have been.  
  
 "Puhuhuhu~!"  
  
 "Hey hey! Where are you? Where?" The white rabbit demanded again, only to be answered by another bout of chilling laughter.  
  
 "Ahhahahaha!"  
  
 Only this time, it came from the direction of the huge statue of animals, making us all wait with anticipation for the person to reveal themselves. Only a few seconds later, a small figure - half black and half white, came shooting out from behind the statue, landing on top of it with a 'thunk'.  
  
 No one spoke, and all eyes were on what looked like a multicolored bear. On one side, his fur was very white, and his mouth was shaped like a normal teddy bears, and there was a black dot where one of his eyes should be. However, on the other side, his fur was impossibly dark, his mouth stretched into a wide grin with human-like teeth, and a jagged red line which was probably supposed to be his other eye, all separated by his round white stomach, and a poking out belly button.  
  
  
 His design was a mixture of innocent and menacing. A strange combination. The only thought that came to mind was of who could have possibly made it, as well as Usami.  
   
 “Why hello there! Thank you all for waiting! Long time, no see guys! I am Monokuma! I’m the headmaster of this academy!”  
   
 Before any of us could say a word, ‘Monokuma’ hopped down from the base of the statue and onto the stone in front of us.  
   
“Ahem, now that I have made my dashing appearance, the first thing I need to say is… Lame! This is so friggin’ lame! Lamer than the lamest lamesauce!” He paused for a moment, suddenly looking a bit sweaty.  
“Wait, lamesauce? Is that tasty?”  
   
 Another voice suddenly piped up, “Just as I thought… It was you! But… How? Why is Monokuma here!?” Usami was waving her arms frantically, as the rest of us looked on in befuddlement.  
   
“Aw shaaadup! I’m livid you know… And I’m about ready to barf thanks to your lukewarm attitude! Just what’s this heart-throbbing school trip crap anyway!? I’m so bored… So hopelessly bored! You better knock off this farce right now!”  
   
His two-colored face had grown red with apparent anger, and I was tempted to ask how he and Usami were able to mimic human body reactions. Needless to say, I abstained.  
   
“You got to make this meet the demands of the world. Nobody wants to see high school students living peaceful lives. What everyone wants to see is…”  
   
 He giggled in a repulsive way before uttering, “Other people’s misery… and despair…”  
   
 This triggered a response from Fuyuhiko.  
   
 “Wh-What the hell is with this stuffed animal…!? Nothing he’s saying makes any damn sense…!”  
   
“What…What is going on? What is that thing?” Byakuya looked… I almost didn’t believe it, but he looked anxious. I was surprised; he looked like the type who wasn’t very easily shaken.  
   
“Be careful, everyone! Stay back and leave this to me!” Usami had calmed, and now wore a serious, determined expression.  
   
 “I don’t know why Monokuma is here, but as long as I have this magic stick…” As she was muttering to herself, Monokuma let out a yell, screaming ‘opening!’ and leapt toward the white rabbit with full force, knocking her down and proceeding to wrestle her, resulting in a cloud of white smoke to form around them.  
   
 After a few moments, the bear had managed to grab the wand Usami had and stomped on it; breaking it in half.  
   
“Tadaaaa!” He said victoriously.  
   
 Usami had tears in her eyes as she knelt on the ground, “Nooooo! My Magic Stick!”  
   
My hand moved to my chin subconsciously. This Monokuma…. He seemed to be the bad guy here when compared to Usami. Did that mean that…?  
   
“…I think we might be in trouble now.” I muttered under my breath. This wasn’t looking very good for us.  
   
“Now then, what to do after my flawless victory…” He hummed, his arms crossed over his round body as he pretended to think.  
   
“First of all, you’re too plain. White rabbits are faaar too plain. Sooo I’m going to make you in my image! Aaah-hahahaha!”  
   
And once again, be began grappling with Usami; a tangle of limbs and smoke clouding them from sight. No one moved a muscle as we all stared at them, faces blank.  
   
“This is what happens when you defy me… I’ll crunch ya! I’ll bite ya! I’ll rip ya apart!” The bear growled.  
   
“Kyaaaaah! Stoooop it!”  
   
“Hey, hold still! This wooden stick… Isn’t gonna shove itself in you know!”  
   
“Noooooo!” Usami wailed, “That’s a no-no! THAT’S A BIG NO-NO!!!”  
   
 When the smoke next cleared, a number of gasps rang out among us. There, Monokuma stood triumphantly once more, and in front of him… Usami’s design had been altered. Instead of the white rabbit with the frilly pink dress we were used to, instead she was only wearing a diaper, and half of her body was now pink, the other half still white, and one of her eyes was a deep red.  
   
“Wha-...! What is this!?” Usami was starting to panic as she looked at her body. “I’m not supposed to look weird like this! Change me back to normal!”  
   
As they continued to squabble, Monokuma proclaiming ‘Monomi’ as his new baby sister, I began looking around at everyone’s shocked faces. Hajime was just close enough for me to whisper to.  
   
 “Hey, Hajime… I think we’ve got ourselves into a bad situation. That Monokuma… I think he might actually be the evil one.” I said this while glancing at the two robots, waiting for him to reply.  
   
He looked down at his hands, seeing them shaking, before turning to me. “Yeah, he doesn’t seem like the good guy at this point, but what about Usami, or, ‘Monomi’? I don’t think we can rule out the possibility that she could be involved.”  
   
My lips formed a straight line.  
   
“I only assume she isn’t involved because of how much she panicked when we first got the message to come here—if she was a part of this, I would think she would be calmer, about this whole situation, and wouldn’t be fighting with Monokuma. This may in fact just be speculation, but… It seems to me… like this is almost some sort of takeover.” It wasn’t long after I spoke that Monokuma suddenly punched Monomi right in the cheek.  
   
“Stupid fool! Do you think you can win against me!?”  
   
“Ahh! It really hurts when you punch me!”  
   
As ‘Monomi’ began tenderly rubbing her supposedly swollen cheek, Monokuma was cackling manically.  
   
“How about that!? Now you’ve learned your lesson!”  
   
“Uuu… If only I still had the magic stick, I totally could’ve beaten that awful Monokuma…”  
   
“This is what happens when you leave yourself open! On the battlefield, recklessness like that could get you killed!” His laugh that I assumed would start to become commonplace, vibrated through him.  
   
The blonde Yakuza apparently couldn’t stand being in the dark anymore, so he decided to ask in his usual way; “Hey…What’s with this stupid performance…?”  
   
“Wh-Who friggin’ knows…!” Even Akane, who was mostly unperturbed, or oblivious to many things, at least from what I observed, looked quite pale.  
   
Confused questions filtered out of our mouths like a faucet turned on full blast. There was fear, suspicion, and poor attempts at remaining composed. My mouth didn’t open once during this time, and my eyes never moved from the strange bear or his cuddly opposite.  
   
My concentration was broken by Monokuma’s sudden outburst, “I’m not a Tanuki! I’m Monokuma, this schools’ headmaster!”  
   
“Monokuma…?” Nagito seemed shaken as well.  
   
“Headmaster!?”  
   
Monokuma paid Nekomaru no mind, “Regardless… it appears everyone has gathered. Now then, as the headmaster, I shall make a formal declaration! From this point onward, the killing school trip will now commence!”  
   
Giving us only a split second to process this, Monokuma laughed as he added, “A school trip where everyone gets along has no stimulation at all! And it’s so damn boring! Nobody wants to play a game like that! You guys agree with me, right!? Soooo, let’s begin our killing school trip!”  
   
The bear looked incredibly pleased with himself.  
   
“Naturally, you guys are the contestants!”  
   
The first one to say anything about this new version of our school trip was a wide-eyed TeruTeru.  
   
“K-Killing…contestants…?”  
   
The now pink and white rabbit who’d just been sulking over her wounded face, shot up straight with a would-be furious expression.  
   
“Wh-What are you saying!?” I will absolutely, positively not allow such bloody events!” This declaration only caused her a swift foot to the same cheek that was punched only a minute before.  
   
“Ugyaaaah! It hurts a lot when you kick me, too!” And then Monomi was being lectured by Monokuma, while she sniffled with tears on her face.  
   
“Anyway, sorry for getting off topic for a bit; back to the killing school trip!”  
   
With shaking hands, Mikan rose them close to her face, “Wh-Wh-What do you mean, “killing school trip”…?” despite her timid nature, she had managed to utter out a question, even in this situation. Still though…  
   
_A… Killing school trip?_  
   
That strange question floated in my mind’s eye, tempting me to try to work out what it meant. Killing… This bear, Monokuma, was telling us to kill each other for some reason. Was this a joke? A lie?  
   
No. Something told me it was none of those things. It wasn’t my common sense, but another part of my brain that could somehow wrap around the situation we were in was telling me that this bear wasn’t messing around. I wasn’t quite sure how I knew, but…  
   
“-Kill each other!” The bear’s positive sounding voice drifted into my ears.  
   
“Kill each other… I see…” Kazuichi said with a sheepish grin, his jagged teeth showing and a drop of sweat on his forehead.  
   
“…K-KILL EACH OTHER!?” His face was suddenly written with utter terror as the reality of the robot’s words sunk in.  
   
“Wh-What are you saying!? That’s impossible!” TeruTeru was sweating in copious amounts, looking like he wanted to deny the very idea.  
   
Monokuma didn’t seem to really care about their distress, and only continued.  
   
“Well, don’t you think it’s kinda lame and boring that you can’t leave the island unless you all get along? So I’m changing the rules! If you want off this island, than please kill one of your friends! And then, make it through the class trial without getting caught!”  
   
For a moment, everything was silent. Thinking that maybe now would be a good time to question him, I began to open my mouth to speak-  
   
“…Class trial?”  
   
And abruptly closed it again. Chiaki had decided to be the one who spoke for us. Monokuma looked more than eager to answer regardless.  
   
“That’s right! The class trial is the real charm of this killing school trip!”  
   
With that, he began a simple run-down of the rules. I listened intently, to make sure I didn’t miss any crucial information. The simple explanation was; if one person kills another, the person who did the killing will then be called ‘the blackened’ and they have to make sure that they get away with the murder during the class trial. Everyone besides the killer is tasked with finding clues and evidence to use during the trial to determine who the blackened is, and a voting will occur. If we catch the blackened, then only they will receive punishment and we will still be trapped living on the island—however, if the wrong person is chosen, the real blackened will be able to escape the island, leaving the rest of the students to receive the punishment in their place. I was positive I had the just of it.  
There was one thing I wanted to be sure of, though…  
   
I spoke in a low, somewhat calm voice, despite my underlying fear, “So when you say punishment, you mean…”  
   
“Yup! Basically, it’s an execution!  
   
“E-Execution!?” The European princess cried, her voice stuttering.  
   
Monokuma all of a sudden had a very creepy grin on his face, as if he was waiting for someone to ask that question for a while.  
   
“The pleasing punishment that follows the class trial! This is one of the perks of the killing school trip. Puhuhu, what sort of spine-tingling punishments will we see? I can’t help it, I’m already getting excited! There might even be some unique punishments, like impaling you through the head with a Thingamajig claw!” His glee when talking about murdering teenagers was enough to make almost anyone’s blood run cold, but I was determined not to let it get to me.  
   
It was only what he wanted; a reaction. I wasn’t going to give it to him.  
   
“Any method is fine. Bludgeoning, stabbing, strangling, poisoning, shooting, beating, running over, burning, bombing, slashing, drowning, electrocution, crushing, cursing… Please choose whichever killing method you would prefer. No time limit, so you can kill as you please… It’s an All-You-Can-Murder Buffet… A theme park of murder… That’s what this killing school trip is all about!”  
   
Within the next instant, everyone seemed to snap out of their frozen stupors. And the reaction was slowly growing.  
   
“D-Don’t fuck with me…” Fuyuhiko clenched his fish so tight a part of me was expecting to see blood drip from his palm.  
   
“Th-That’s right! Who on Earth would kill someone?” Kazuichi shouted, still looking a little scared.  
   
The bear looked as nonchalant as one such as him could as he said, “I’m not ordering anyone to kill. Whether or not you kill someone is entirely up to you. But be careful! Youth doesn’t last forever! It’ll be too late if you guys wait till you’re in your forties to start killing each other!”  
   
“I-I don’t believe any of this… I don’t believe any of this… I don’t believe any of this…”  
   
Mahiru spoke up as well; “Wh-What if nobody ever gets murdered? Does that mean we’ll never leave the island?”  
   
“Who knows!?” Monokuma shrugged, clearly enjoying himself.  
“Anyway, I’d like for you all to go through with this killing school trip in a healthy and positive manner.”  
   
“Why do we have to do this!?”  
   
The machine tilted his head to the side with his chubby hand below his mouth, “Well, it’s obvious. There’s a reason you all need to kill each other.  
   
“…Eh?” For the first time in a while, Hajime uttered.  
   
“Hold on,” Nekomaru cracked his knuckles, the veins in his hands clear against his skin, “You’ve been running your mouth for quite some time now… I don’t want to get violent, but if I do, I have no idea what might happen!”  
   
Akane’s face melted into a smirk, the ends of her fingers suddenly looked like sharp claws. “What, a fight? Do I need to beat the crap outta that black-and-white bear?”  
   
Even Peko who seemed mostly neutral and calm, stepped back into a sort of fighting stance, her right hand reaching behind her to grab a hold of her sheathed bamboo blade, “Who would dare try to kill…? I’ll put a stop to it, with force if necessary.”  
   
One by one, it seemed anyone with athletic ability or fighting experience began preparing themselves to strike at the twisted bear. Everyone was glowing with anger and newfound hatred for the thing that told us to kill one another.  
   
Ibuki, seeing the clear advantage that they currently had over him, began speaking confidently. “If you keep saying stupid stuff, the athletes in our group are gonna lose their patience!”  
   
…However, something was amiss. Monokuma didn’t look worried at all. He only bowed his head, almost with a look of disappointment. “Ah, is that so…? Well, I guess I expected this reaction…”  
   
And then that disappointment turned to irritation. “If you guys wanna do things by force, then I’ll have to fight back with a little force of my own…”  
   
“Force? What are you gonna do…!?” Monomi was sweating bullets at Monokuma’s obvious threat, and in the next couple of seconds, it became clear why.  
   
The bear didn’t answer her, only turned his back to us, and began speaking in a low voice, “Surge… O gods who dwell between light and darkness… In accordance with our contract, I summon thee now… Come forth, Monobeasts!”  
   
At first, there was a dead silence. Why had he said those strange things? It almost sounded like a summoning-  
   
The statue in the middle of Jabberwock Park began shaking, slowly, before rapidly increasing in velocity as large cracks and crevices began forming over the animals, making it known that the statue was going to crumble to the ground.  
   
And it did, in a way. But, what happened next was something completely unprecedented, and utterly unthinkable.  
   
The stone that made up the statue did break off and crumble to the ground, but instead of the entire statue just being destroyed, giant machines leapt out of the stone, breaking out as though they were trapped under it for a long time. There were five of them; each resembling a different animal, except one.  
   
I suppose it didn’t really matter what they looked like at the moment. What just happened… That was Monokuma denying us the possibility of a rebellion. The horrible reality of the situation was sinking in.  
   
My eyes flickered to the enormous ‘beasts’, an unshakeable shiver ran down my spine. These machines… they were incredibly advanced, and on closer inspection, some of them had guns attached to their bodies. There was no way we could stand a chance against them.  
   
“Huh…Huh…?” Sonia slowly got out, her face so pale it almost looked a little blue. I couldn’t blame her; it took everything I had to keep myself upright.  
   
“Wh-Why… did the statue move?” Mahiru had the same expression as Sonia, Kazuichi… and almost every one of us.  
   
“M-M-M-MONSTER!!!”  
   
“I told you, they’re Monobeasts!”  
   
The people around me, all of their voices seemed to blend in with each other, until I couldn’t distinguish who said what. All I knew, was that we were all consumed by panic. No matter how calm I tried to remain, there was only so much one could take before they lost their composure.  
   
_No, I… Don’t panic, just don’t panic… Everything will be worse the second you lose control. Keep it together, (Y/N)!_  
   
My thoughts could only help so much, though. If I didn’t want to faint again, I would have to physically force myself to swallow my fear. As I gulped down some of the saliva down my dry throat, a quiet, concerned voice spoke beside me.  
   
“(Y/N)-chan…H-Hey, a-are you alright...?” Nagito had walked closer to me while I was trying to stifle the growing need to panic. My head turned robotically, to look at him, his worried greyish eyes searching my face, his expression reformed with clear uneasiness. I could only nod stiffly, wondering why he had asked me of all people. I couldn't ask him though.  
   
My voice wouldn’t come out if I tried to speak. I was sure of it.  
   
“You guys sure are skeptical… If something doesn’t fit within your narrow notions of common sense, you just deny it outright… How stupid. Ignorant cavemen are better than you all!”  
   
Despite all of our panicked outbursts, Monokuma continued to talk over us, as if he was wilfully ignoring us now. “Classifying events according to their genre is a disease of the modern age.”  
   
“Everyone! Please stay back! I-I will protect everyone! Even at the cost of my own life… I will protect everyone!” Monomi once again tried to gain control of the situation.  
   
“Hurk! …Huh? What’s this? Blurgh… Ugh…” Monokuma merely looked disgusted, “Ah, I know! This is nausea! Your sickly sweet sense of justice makes me wanna puke! All righty then, it’s decided! You’ll be my example to everyone!”  
   
As soon as he announced this, his jagged red eye flashed a brighter shade of red. One of the Monobeasts, one with wings, flew to the bear’s side, and he jumped on top of it as it hovered above the ground. The winged Monobeast’s robotic arm began to transform when Monokuma landed on it, and it now looked like it formed some sort of machine gun. The psycho teddy poised his arm high in the air, before swinging it down, signalling for the robot to open fire. Straight at Monomi.  
   
The bunny only had a few seconds to look terrified before she was loaded with bullet holes. However, Monokuma didn’t stop until all that was left of her was her light pink bow, which was also full of holes.  
   
 He had literally shot her to disintegration.  
   
No one could believe it. Monomi, who had promised that nothing bad would happen to us, who declared she would protect us… was destroyed.  
   
“Wah… Waaaaah… WAAAAAHHHHHH!!!” TeruTeru held his head in horror and disbelief.  
   
“Wh-What was that!?” Kazuichi’s eyes were popping out of his head.  
   
“A-blub-blub-blub-blub…” Ibuki was foaming out the mouth, “It’s only the first stage… and Monomi is already dead…!”  
   
Gundham, one who always spoke strangely and seemed to almost embrace the weird, couldn’t even handle this.  
   
“I-Is that a demon…!? Or perhaps it’s… a weapon from the future…!?”  
   
“Monobeasts are dreadful weapons of destruction!” Monokuma shouted proudly.  
   
And still, nobody moved anywhere. The obvious reason was that we were still in shock. The other being that it would be pointless, and we would no doubt be shot down.  
   
“Puhuhu… That’s right, this is what I wanted. This feeling of despair! Giving an example was totally the right call! Ah-hahahaha!”  
   
It was like we had all stopped functioning all together. No one moved, no one blinked, and I don’t think anyone even breathed. It was all just too much.  
   
“Now then, I believe I’ve made my point… Just so we’re clear, you guys can’t defy me. If you don’t want to end up as fish food, you better not disobey me! Just so you know… I don’t feel mercy or sympathy. Cuz I’m a bear, after all. An excuse like, “I got high off this tropical atmosphere won’t work on me at all!”  
   
"…"  
   
“Also, in addition to the killing school trip, I’ve already updated the e-Handbook. There, the rules for the killing school trip are written, so you better read them thoroughly. Ignorance of the rules is no excuse, either. Though that is true of any society really. Now then… Enjoy the remainder of this liberating and harsh school trip!” After that shocking display and Monokuma’s warning, he and the Monobeasts both vanished before us.  
   
We were left alone, left to salvage the pieces of our lost sanity and sense of logic. No one spoke, but I could tell from their pale, sullen faces that everyone was terribly exhausted.  
   
I wasn’t any different. The stamina I used to keep myself together during that strange chain of events drained out of my body, and I was left feeling weak.  
   
Komaeda addressed everyone for the first time since we entered the park. “Wh-What just…happened…?”  
   
“U-Um…Um… I-I just won’t believe it… That’s it… That’s all there is to it…” TeruTeru’s fingers touched together, his gaze drifting off to the side.  
   
“I-It’d be one thing if we were up against a human or even an animal…” Nekomaru started, “But what the hell can we do against a monster like that!?”  
   
“I-It’s impossible… Why is something impossible happening…?” The mechanic held his head in bewilderment.  
   
Byakuya only shook his head. His finger pressed against his temple with a concentrated look. “Well, it’s not… really impossible. Those Monobeasts or whatever they’re called are machines. Thus, Monokuma must also be the same… As long as they’re machines… It means someone made them, and is controlling them.”  
   
“The question is…who?” My voice was a bit raspier sounding than I intended it to be.  
   
“And why we were put into this unexplainable situation…” Peko added, her face stern.  
   
“Hey, who is it!? Who!?” Mahiru demanded, probably knowing that no one would come forward.  
   
“Aha…haha, it could be anyone”, TeruTeru squeaked, “It’s not like I believe it anyway. There’s no way I’d believe something like that. More importantly, are you guys hungry? Let’s just stop thinking about this and just eat.”  
  
“…You can eat first.” Chiaki stated.  
   
Byakuya’s voice broke out over us again, and we all turned to him instinctively.  
   
“No matter how confused or upset you are, I don’t mind. However, remember this… I don’t know who in the world is orchestrating this but… We don’t need to be cautious of those machines… or even of whoever is controlling them… More than anything, we must be cautious of…”  
   
He paused, looking around at our faces.  
   
“…Ourselves. Being brought to a tropical island with complete strangers, and ordered to kill each other to escape… That creates fear in our minds, and the desire to escape that hopeless fear… is our worst enemy.”  
   
We looked at each other’s faces. There was no doubt, everyone realized the reality of his words. One of us…all of us could potentially kill someone, with a strong enough will. Monokuma’s words filled my head. We had to kill in order to be free. I didn’t want to kill anyone, and yet…  
   
There was still the possibility that someone else would. Could we really be strong enough to resist the temptation? I had a feeling that, some of us were weaker than others.  
  
 As we all went our separate ways, Hajime sending me a passing glance, Nagito was the only one who stayed beside me, and walked me to my room, even supporting me on the way with his shoulder when I felt like my legs would give out from under me.  
  
...  
   
Truly, that day… a day filled with such despair… it was just the beginning. Merely the first chapter of a story. A prelude. But, unbeknownst to me at the time, it was also a day with a tiny shred hope. More specifically…  
 

 

 It was the beginning of that hope.

 

  
...

 

 

 

_"Don't worry (Y/N)-chan... We'll get through this..."_

 

 

_..._

 

 

  
_"Our situation may be full of despair, but..."_

  
 

 

_..._

 

  
 

_"...I just know your hope will be strong enough to guide us through..."_

 

 

_..._

 

  
_"...Until the end."_

~

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Prologue: End

  
Surviving Students: 17


	5. Chapter 1 Daily Life -Part 1-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello once again, everyone! So, as you may have noticed, this chapter is shorter than the ones previous. This may be taken as an indicator that the chapters from now on will be shorter as well, or they may not; I suppose it depends on where I feel like splitting it up. Look forward to some Free-Time events next chapter though~ Thank you for your continued support, and for reading and commenting!

 

Chapter 1  
Destination Despair  
Daily Life  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   
After a sudden message from Monokuma on the monitor told us about night time, Nagito left me to return to his own cottage. For a moment my body just stood there motionlessly and my eyes stared at nothing.  
   
And then my legs moved, and I unconsciously wandered toward the only window. I found myself gazing at the night sky through it. It was different from the night sky I was used to. Instead of being an overwhelming view of navy blue, it was a mix of different shades of blue, an infinite number of stars scattered across the sky…  
   
It was strange to me… that in this situation we were in…  
   
_The sky has never looked more beautiful._  
   
 Another minute had gone by when I noticed someone standing outside, looking at the sky as well. From where I was standing, his back was facing me, but I could just make out the shape of his dark spiky hair.  
   
_Hajime…_  
   
It really was no wonder what he was doing outside at this time of night. To be so suddenly forced to come to this island, lured into thinking it was safe, only to be told the rules had changed so we had to kill each other if we ever wanted to leave.  
   
_Who could blame him…for being confused…?_  
   
Before I even knew it, I walked toward the door of my cabin and opened it, slipping outside soundlessly and began approaching him. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, or why I was doing it. All I knew was that the depressed look on his face was something I wanted to change.  
   
It appears I wasn’t as silent as I thought. Hajime turned, seeing me approaching him.  
   
“(Y/N)-chan…?” He looked surprised, “What are you doing out here?”  
   
I let a small smile on my lips, though it was thin. He wasn’t annoyed, just stunned by my sudden appearance. He must have thought everyone had gone to their cabins by now after hearing Monokuma’s announcement…  
   
“Ah, I apologize if I startled you. I know there’s a very slim chance that I will be able to sleep tonight, and I saw you standing alone out here… You looked like you needed someone to talk to.” And I wanted that miserable expression he had to go away…  
   
He shook his head from side to side. “You don’t have to worry about me… We’re all in the same situation after all. I just needed some time to think.”  
   
My smile dropped. “And you were also agonizing over why we were brought here, the same as me, and probably the rest of us. Look, Hajime…” I looked him in his light green eyes, ones that were questioning.  
   
“I don’t know how, and I don’t know when, but I know that we’re going to get out of this. No matter what it takes, I’m… I’m sure that we will find a way. So don’t look so sad, alright? I’m going to do my best to get us off this island.” I showed him my lighthearted grin.  
   
Hajime only looked at me in bewilderment; “I don’t want to put all of that pressure on your shoulders, (Y/N)-chan. You shouldn’t just rely on yourself when there are other people here who want out just as much as I do.”  
   
“I know. But that doesn’t change how I think about it. I was just saying, in a worst case scenario... I will do it myself if that’s what it comes down to. That’s why I… don’t want you guys to worry…” I said quietly.  
   
“Anyway, I’ll see you later. Might as well try to catch _some_ sleep.” murmuring those parting words and giving him a small nod I began walking back into my cabin, a new sense of determination flooding into my body.  
   
“(Y/N)…” Hajime only sighed as he stood outside a moment, alone once more, before reluctantly heading to his assigned cottage.

 

 

***

  
 

   
It was only when a loud ringing filled my ears that I realized I somehow managed to fall asleep at some point during the night. My eyes opened, and that annoying voice which I never wanted to hear again began speaking loudly.  
   
“Ahem…Hope’s Peak Academy’s School Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make… Goooood morning everyone! Looks like today’s going to be another perfect, tropical day! Let’s show some enthusiasm and give it our all today!” His voice faded and the monitor shut off.  
   
My limbs popped as I stretched out, slowly rising from under the covers on the surprisingly comfy bed. It might have been a bit cliché, but I was kind of hoping that when I awoke, yesterdays’ catastrophe would be nothing but a passing nightmare. It’s too bad the world wasn’t that merciful.  
   
There was only one thing to do now; figure out where to go from here. No one said anything about meeting up to discuss what to do, so I assume that for now we are all on our own. That suited me just fine. I wanted to quickly gather as much information about this place and about who was behind this as possible.  
  
Luckily for me, I’ve worked alone almost all of my life. Thinking about the best place for gathering information, I stepped outside of my cabin and into the warm, sunny weather. Funny; with the way the sun was now shining, you would think that the freak weather change that happened yesterday was all an illusion.  
   
I was about to walk across the bridge when I noticed a tuft of fluffy white hair over by the pathway to the hotel. Curiously, I walked towards him, Nagito’s full body coming into view as he stood in the pathway. Like he was waiting for something.  
   
His eyes caught sight of me as I approached and he smiled.  
   
“Hey (Y/N)-chan! I was actually waiting for you to come out. Byakuya told everyone to gather at the hotel restaurant. He said he had something important to discuss with everyone.” He explained happily; the surprise and confusion of last night seemingly gone.  
   
_He bounces back quickly._  
   
“Oh, really? I figured someone would want to talk about what happened, but I didn’t think it would be so soon.” I said with mild surprise.  
   
Nagito gave a thoughtful look, “Well, I think it’s because Byakuya’s in charge of the whole thing. From what I’ve seen, he seems to be the ambitious type—someone who’s quick to take charge. Not that that’s a bad thing.”  
   
“Mhm, it’s probably a good thing to have right now,” my fingers closed around my chin, “From what I observed, in times like these a good leadership is a must.”  
   
Nagito nodded, “I think that’s what he had in mind.”  
   
I sighed a little, a bit disappointed that my research was put on hold, before replying, “Well, I guess we should get going.”  
   
“Yup. Everyone else is probably inside by now anyway.” Nagito said as he and I walked toward the hotel.  
   
Inside the hotel lobby was Chiaki, completely focused on the single arcade machine. Everyone else was probably already at the restaurant, but Chiaki looked as if she was glued to the spot.  
   
“Eh, Nanami-san…?” Nagito called out hesitantly. “I think that everyone is here now, so we should probably get going.”  
   
It took her several moments to even respond. “Hm? Oh, (Y/N)-chan and Komaeda-san. Ah yes, you’re probably right. I’ll just get going then.”  
   
A bead of sweat dripped down my forehead as I watched her stretch a bit before heading upstairs. I looked toward Nagito who only shrugged and chuckled slightly before we proceeded to follow after her.  
   
Upon our arrival the large form of Byakuya turned around and his eyes pierced into us intensely, as if we’d just committed a serious crime.  
   
“You two are late, (L/N), Nagito… Even more late than Hajime and Kazuichi.” He looked pretty annoyed.  
   
“Yeah, and I had to drag that coward back here too.” Mahiru pointed to a shaking Kazuichi who had his hands on his hat and terrified tears dribbling down his cheeks.  
   
“P-Please stop… Making fun of me…” He whimpered, making me feel a bit sympathetic. He was just scared, that’s all.  
   
“A-At least th-there was someone wh-who wasn’t there to s-see my embarrassing m-moment…” Mikan stuttered quietly to herself, a small smile on her face. I wasn’t quite sure what she meant, though.  
   
“Anyway… Everyone’s here now, right? Then let’s get going.” Chiaki said after a moment. All eyes turned to Byakuya, as he nodded in confirmation.  
   
“Right. Though truthfully I did want to eat some more breakfast… I should begin my talk.”  
   
As he paused for us to let it sink in, and for him to consider his words, Nagito began whispering to me.  
   
“Ah, hey (Y/N)-chan… did you see the new rules in the e-Handbook? It looks like this killing school trip isn’t a joke after all.”  
   
I nodded, “Yeah, I looked them over carefully. Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a rule against investigating.”  
   
“But still… It’s kind of hard to believe. That Monokuma thing is serious… he really wants us to start killing each other…” He looked very sad in that moment, and my heart and mind agreed with him. This was horrible… All the more reason why we had to put a stop to it.  
   
“Don’t worry, Ko. Things are looking bleak right now, but I know we’ll get out of this somehow. You can count on it…” I muttered, but the stunned expression on his face told me that he heard me. I sent him a quick smile before the heir began his speech.  
   
“First, I have a question for you all. That Monokuma thing ordered us to kill each other… So under these strange circumstances, what do you think we need right now?”  
   
Fuyuhiko scoffed, “Tch, who the fuck knows? Get to the point already.”  
   
Byakuya’s intimidating gaze was then set on the Yakuza. “If you want me to get to the point, you better hurry up and answer my question.”  
   
“What do we need? We need food and sleep, obviously”, Akane said as if she thought what she said made everything clear, “right?”  
   
“No… you’ve forgotten about shitting… Which means the answers are: a good appetite, a good night’s sleep, and a good shit!!!” I didn’t even have to look to know who that deep voice belonged to.  
   
Byakuya only looked as if he were dealing with a bunch of imbeciles. “…Does anyone have a real answer?”  
   
“Could it be… a bond?” Nagito spoke finally. It was an interesting answer, at least.  
   
“Bond…?” Hajime questioned.  
   
“This is what I believe… As long as the Ultimates work together, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish…” He said slowly, as if he were slowly finding the right words.  
A confident expression took over his thoughtful one, and his voice rose from his normal tone.  
   
“You’ll be able to create a hope that can overcome any despair. That’s why… if we want to escape this island, we need to promise each other that we’ll work together!”  
   
A snorting laugh came from Hiyoko as she said, “Wow, he said that with a straight face! How is he not embarrassed?”  
   
And poor Nagito instantly turned sheepish, “Ah… just as I figured. That was kinda lame, huh?”  
   
I gently touched Nagito on the shoulder. “I didn’t think it was lame at all… Don’t listen to her; I thought that was pretty cool of you to say.” I told him honestly, and he suddenly looked a bit flustered.  
   
“Oh… You’re really nice to say so, (Y/N)-chan… even if you’re only saying it to make me feel better, I appreciate it…”  
   
I gave his shoulder a little squeeze before pulling my hand away.  
   
“He does have a point”, Peko pointed out. “That must be why Monokuma is enforcing a rule that will cause us to be suspicious of each other.”  
   
“I see… That was a pretty good answer. Since it’s impossible to face our enemy as individuals under these circumstances, we must fight as a group… However, what we need to achieve that solidarity is not something as easygoing and optimistic as a…“bond.””  
   
“Then… what?” Asked Nagito with his mouth open. I immediately knew the answer—I was a bit surprised Nagito didn’t think of it considering we were just talking about it before we came in here.  
   
“Let me guess… A leader?” I asked more in the form of a statement than a question, but nonetheless, he nodded a small smirk on his lips.  
   
“That is correct, (L/N). What we need right now is a disciplined leadership, provided by an unmistakable leader!”  
   
“I see…” Nekomaru nodded to himself, “Even sports teams need captains, after all…”  
   
“Rejoice. I shall accept the position.” Byakuya said with his arms crossed and a triumphant look dancing in his eyes. I had a feeling it was coming to this.  
   
“…Huh?”  
   
“Now then, I’ll wrap up this introduction, and let’s move on to the main question.”  
   
“Wait just a second!” Mahiru cut in.  
   
“…What is it?” He looked at her with a neutral expression.  
   
“Wh-What did you just say…? I don’t care how you excuse it, you’re being too forceful! Deciding to be the leader all on your own… and why does it have to be you, anyway!?”  
   
He gave her a rather dull look. “Who is more fit to lead other than me? I am the Ultimate Affluent Progeny of the Togami household, destined to stand above all others.”  
   
“S-Seriously! I’m telling you that attitude of yours is too forceful!”  
   
“Koizumi-san, please wait.” Nagito began as he attempted to calm the angry girl down. “It’s true that Byakuya may be a little forceful, but given our current situation… I believe it’s a leader’s duty, under circumstances like this, to be forceful to a certain degree…”  
   
This seemed to calm her down, but she wasn’t quite ready to give in. “That may be true, but…if we just need someone who can lead people, then even Sonia can…”  
  
“No, perish the thought. I am merely a figurehead.” Sonia’s response was fast and without hesitation. It probably wasn’t a good thing to be so sure of something like that.  
   
Nagito began smiling again; “Well…he must have the qualities of a leader if he can accept the role under these circumstances.”  
   
With her final words, she slowly gave in. “If everyone’s okay with it… I’m okay with it, too…” Though her face didn’t show that she was okay with it.  
   
“Then I guess we’ve made our decision…” The Togami announced. “Don’t worry, as long as I’m the leader, I won’t let anyone become a victim. I will guide you all! That much, I promise.”  
   
“Kyaaa! Soooo reliable!” Ibuki gushed.  
   
 “Now then, let’s move on to the topic at hand, for real this time… I have something to show you all.”  
   
“…Something to show us?” Hajime once again looked dumbfounded.  
   
“It’s at Jabberwock Park at the central island… Come, follow me!” And with that, he left us with pounding footsteps that practically shook the whole room.  
  
“Wow, he’s pretty fast…” My mouth was open in slight awe. It was impressive really.  
   
“J-Just as I thought…he sure is forceful…” Hajime muttered.  
   
“Jeez…we may have made a mistake in choosing him as the leader…” Mahiru sigh as she began following him. I think that was taking it a bit too far.  
   
Almost everyone filed out of the room right then besides me, Nagito, Akane, Gundam, and Hajime. I looked at Hajime, and then at Nagito before deciding something.  
   
“Hey, Hajime and Nagito, why don’t we go together?” I asked with a small smile. I know that I was probably going to end up going with Nagito regardless, but I noticed that Hajime could get kind of a lonely expression at times as well.  
   
“Ah, sure… I don’t mind, I guess.” Hajime replied awkwardly, while Nagito looked as cheery as ever.  
   
“Alright, let’s go~!” Komaeda waited for us to catch up before we all walked side by side, Hajime on the right, Nagito on the left, and I was in the middle of the two.  
   
As we made our way out of the restaurant and on the path to the main island, I couldn’t help but steal a glance at the two boys. One had a smile on his face and seemed to be enjoying himself, while the other looked on ahead with a straight face, but I could see he was a lot more relaxed then when I saw him last.  
   
 A small smile came to my face without realizing it. I wasn’t sure why, but this moment in particular felt kind of special. There was no tragedy tainting the atmosphere, and we all seemed safe and a tad more confident now that we were assembled under an established leader. It was another instant when once again, I realized…  
   
How important it was that I made sure that we could keep having moments like these.

~


	6. Chapter 1 Daily Life -Part 2-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is a little bit earlier than usual, at least. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, I made sure to make it even longer than the last one!

 

Upon re-entering the area we gathered in the previous night, it became starkly evident what Byakuya’s concerns were. The statue, once holding the different animals representing the islands, now stood a giant, black spherical object perched onto a black metal pole.  
   
“For skinny people, you sure are slow.” The Togami sneered at us.  
   
“It seems… you are just too fast for us”, Sonia sheepishly admitted.  
   
Kazuichi had his hands on his knees, taking in gulps of air. “J-Jeez… I never expected a fatso like him to move so fast…”  
   
Akane turned to Byakuya, “So…what’s supposed to be here?”  
   
Byakuya only looked at her incredulously. “Here…?” Really…?” He turned his nose at her. “Hmph… If you haven’t noticed it yet…then I was right to dismiss you all as idiots.”  
   
“Everyone… I think it’s probably safe to assume that ‘that’, is what Byakuya-san is referring to.” I pointed to the object in question, and a large number of heads whipped around to see what I was pointing at.  
   
“It looks like a clock, but…something seems off…” Hajime looked uncomfortable, before paling, “It’s…counting down…!”  
   
“Was this here when we came last time?” Mahiru demanded.  
   
“No…I’m pretty sure it wasn’t!” Nekomaru said confidently. He was right, this thing was definitely not here when we were here last night.  
   
The most likely suspect at the moment would have to be Monokuma, because upon closer inspection, the sphere had bear-like ears and Monokuma’s red jagged eye.  
   
Our leader finally decided to speak once more. “I found it this morning…when I was exploring the island one more time. It’s unknown...when it was actually placed here…”  
   
My mind tuned out of everyone’s ramblings as I heard that. Byakuya hadn’t already investigated the whole Island, had he…? No, no… That wasn’t how this was supposed to go. I was supposed to be the one to go through every possible clue on the islands with a fine-tooth comb, not this boy!  
   
 _‘If I’m not able to do my part before everyone else, then what good am I…? I’m the Ultimate Researcher, digging up information is my forte! No one should have to take my place, I am surely competent enough to do it on my own…’_  
   
The thought of someone else completing my job for me made my insides feel physically sick. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat, before lifting my head to face everyone. I had to contribute something at least.  
   
I drew in a deep breath, before speaking over everyone.  
   
“…I don’t think we need to worry about when this contraption was placed here, or even who placed it. What we need to worry about, is _why._ Why is it here? What is its purpose? I think we can safely assume that whatever this timer is for, is clearly counting down to some sort of event, or signifies _something_ is coming. We need to prepare ourselves for what that something will be.”  
   
Byakuya eyed me with a pointed look, before replying, “(L/N) is surprisingly correct. Since we do not know what the timer is counting down to, we must be ever vigilant and prepare ourselves for a worst case scenario. It obviously is not a bomb like Nekomaru has suggested, but that does not bring us much closer to figuring out its existence.”  
   
“B-But… how do we figure out what it’s counting down to…?” Mikan murmured.  
   
Akane shrugged, “It’s a mystery…”  
   
“…A mysterious mystery, isn’t it!?” A familiar voice questioned, and I almost did a double-take upon turning to see who it was.  
   
“Kyah!” Sonia yelped.  
   
“Kyaaaaah!” She mimicked, as though Sonia’s surprise had in turn frightened her.  
   
“M-Monomi?” We blanched. The mechanical rabbit we’d clearly seen shot to nothing by the Monobeasts, was standing right there beside us, as if there was nothing amiss.  
   
“W-Why are you here!?”  
   
 “I heard everyone talking while I was patrolling, so I came over…”  
   
Ibuki touched her fingers together and laughed nervously, “No, not that… Didn’t Monokuma kill you?”  
   
“Yeah, to be honest, I think we all figured you were destroyed.” I reasoned, wondering how she could be before us now. A copy, perhaps…?  
   
She giggled in an all innocent way. “Oh, that’s what you were worried about. Pffft, hehehe! You don’t have to worry about that! After all, I can never die!”  
   
At this, Tanaka folded his arms in front of his chest with a smirk and chuckled ominously, “I see… You must be an undead abomination, risen from the foulest depths of the Netherworld by black magic…” He gasped suddenly, as if coming to a sudden revelation, “Do you want me to make you my thrall!?”  
   
“Monomi’s a mechanical stuffed animal, right? Doesn’t that mean she can’t die in the first place?” At least we had Chiaki with us to point out the obvious.  
   
Kazuichi suddenly looked passive, “Now that you mention it, she would only need like, a spare or something.”  
   
“‘A spare’… What a mean thing to say!” She said tearfully.  
   
After being quiet for a bit, Byakuya decided to finally speak once more. “However, you have arrived at the perfect time. There’s something I wanted to ask you.” He suddenly looked very irritated as he demanded, “What is the meaning behind this timer and this countdown? Answer me…”  
   
“Hm?” She turned to the general area the Togami’s chubby finger pointed towards. “Ha-wa-wa! What is this!?” The rabbit shrieked with raised arms. She turned back to us, an ashamed look adorning her round face.  
   
“U-Um… I’m sorry… I…don’t know what this is…”  
   
“You really don’t know…?” Peko asked in her quiet voice.  
   
Somehow, Monomi’s body began sweating profusely, “I-I’m sorry… I don’t really have a grasp of what Monokuma is up to…”  
   
“You don’t know, even though you’re Monokuma’s little sister.” Hiyoko cocked her head.  
   
“I’m not my brother’s little sister!” She exclaimed in a huff, despite the contradictory sentence she’d just said.  
   
Everyone looked on at rabbit with questioning eyes.  
   
“It seems as if that’s her role now, even if she tries to deny it”, I deadpanned. Being demoted from instructor to the lowly sister of a villain would probably be pretty humiliating to her, so I decided not to say any more.  
   
As if trying to clear the air, “A-Anyway… Let’s all do our best!” She raised a paw up into the air. “Let’s kick the evil Monokuma off this island!”  
   
Her attempt at spreading a bit of cheer and positivity was for naught however.  
   
“If you don’t know what the countdown is for, get lost. You are useless to us.” Byakuya stared Monomi down as if he were inspecting a cockroach.  
   
Even with tears in her eyes, she tried to continue. “Um… Let’s… Together…”  
   
But Byakuya completely cut her off with a very annoyed expression, “I said get lost…!”  
   
“Kyaa! I’m sorry!” Monomi whimpered with her hands over her ears as she disappeared into the sand. Even though she very well could have been withholding useful information from us, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of sympathy.  
   
“Um… Perhaps you are being too harsh? I am starting to feel sorry for it…” Sonia had a bit of a guilty look on her face as she said this.  
   
Suddenly, the pink-haired Kazuichi spoke up at her words. “Miss Sonia! May I call you Miss Sonia!? No, I insist on calling you that!” He spoke almost dramatically. “There’s no need to feel sorry for that thing. She’s obviously working with Monokuma.”  
   
“Who the fuck cares about that stuffed animal…? More importantly, what the hell is that clock?”  
   
Despite what I said earlier, I was very curious as well; though the thought of answers to one of our problems just suddenly appearing was more than unlikely. There wasn’t much point in dwelling on it, unless someone among us had new information, but so far, no one has come forward.  
   
Byakuya held a meaty finger to his white-rimmed spectacles. “Looks ominous, doesn’t it? Who put that object here, and how did they do it in just one night?”  
   
“I can’t imagine…” Hajime thought aloud.  
   
“Which means it doesn’t make sense! Also, it’s deadly!” TeruTeru chimed in with an oddly satisfied grin.  
   
“However, that’s not all that’s unimaginable… This island is full of mysteries we can’t even begin to imagine… For example…how were the seventeen of us brought to this island…?”  
   
“Yeah, I wasn’t trying to think about this since it’s been bugging me too, but…he’s right. That IS a mystery.” Kazuichi rubbed his beanie.  
   
“There’s more,” Byakuya continued, “Why is Jabberwock Island, known for being a popular resort destination, now an uninhabited island?”  
   
That was something that was bothering me as well. Throughout my research, I’d discovered a lot about different places around the world, Jabberwock Island being one of them. But since Jabberwock is supposed to be a widely known resort full of tourists and vacationers from what I read, if this is in fact that same island, why are we the only ones here now? Is it possible that the resort shut down and not many people were notified? No, that seems unlikely… Perhaps we are not on Jabberwock Island at all, and this is simply a similar island? That might be more plausible, if we take into account the fact that there are a lot of islands all over the world, and also that fact that it is possible to create an island artificially-  
   
“Maybe Monokuma’s robot’s killed everyone on the island?” Hiyoko said with a particularly malicious smile.  
   
“That’s a possibility, but… We don’t know that for sure.”  
   
“Unless any of us here are the mastermind or are very aware of what’s happening in the world, we probably won’t know the answer unless we get it from Monokuma’s mouth, that or there are places yet to be explored that will shed light on the mystery.” I concluded; there really was no getting around it; we just didn’t have enough information.  
   
“Grrr! It’s like everything here is just full of mysteries!” Ibuki exclaimed indignantly. She was right about that at least.  
   
“You’re right, mysteries over-topping mysteries… However, since these mysteries are overlapping with one another, I doubt that some no-name group is behind this…”  
   
“W-What are you trying to say?” Hajime asked, looking more perplexed about the situation than all of us.  
   
Togami pierced him with his stare, “I mean…this situation we’re in is undeniably the work of some enormous organization.”  
   
“Enormous organization…?” Mikan repeated with tear-pricked eyes.  
   
“Monomi, Monokuma, the Monobeasts… They’re all machines that require major technical skill to operate.” He said.  
   
Kazuichi scratched his cheek, “Plus, they’d need a lot of funding. And there’s no way those things were made just for the hell of it.”  
   
 _‘They were probably made to coerce us into cooperating with the game.’_  
   
“That organization might be controlling these machines and monitoring the island with those cameras…”  
   
Peko spoke up from her long silence. “Could those fiends be hiding on this island?”  
   
Byakuya dismissed her with a shake of his head. “Not likely. They’re probably running this from somewhere else. Somewhere safe.”  
   
“Where would that be?” Nekomaru asked seriously for once.  
   
Somewhere else… That would be the obvious conclusion, but perhaps they want us to think that? We cannot say anything is out of the realm of possibility just yet. If there is evident of the mastermind’s whereabouts… I’ll find it.  
   
\--“I can’t imagine what kind of people they would be.” Akane’s voice rang in my ears, once again pulling me back into reality.  
   
“Well, let’s see… There’s my Togami Corporation… Sonia’s Novoselic Kingdom…and the Kuzuryu Clan… It would definitely have to be an organization as powerful as those groups, if not more so.  
   
“Huh?” Sonia exclaimed.  
   
“I’m used to being mistrusted… Do what you will.” Fuyuhiko didn’t look bothered.  
   
“Hold on, I don’t care about you or the Kuzuryu Clan, but I won’t allow you to doubt Miss Sonia!” Souda suddenly shouted. “Miss Sonia is a hot blonde princess! There’s a sharp distinction between her and you punks!”  
   
“Yeah, yeah… Just shut up already, loser.” The kimono clad blonde snorted.  
   
“L-Loser!? Are you talking about me!?”  
   
It probably wasn’t very wise to acknowledge her, because she continued to harass him with, “It’s obvious from your flashy clothes that you just wanna stand out because you’re actually a loser. Hehe… It must be hard to make your living in the Lame-Ass Loser Industry.” She giggled evilly.  
   
“Hey, come on… Those insults were really uncalled for. It would be better to focus on the problems at hand, rather than making senseless remarks, wouldn’t you agree?” I stepped in to try to defend Kazuichi. As much as he could run his mouth, it was clear to me that the mechanic meant well, and that Hiyoko was clearly looking for easy targets.  
   
“Hmph, whatever! It’s no fault of mine that’s what he is, I was just pointing out his faults.” She puffed her cheeks in annoyance, but thankfully relented. Kazuichi sent me an appreciative look and uttered, “U-Uh, thanks (L/N)-chan…” I smiled at him in return, not noticing the impressed look Nagito had while observing me or the surprised one from Hajime.  
   
“So… Are you really certain that we’re up against a huge organization?” Hajime began the trek back to the original topic.  
   
“Even if such an organization exists… Why would they make us go through something like this?”  
   
 _‘That is the question, isn’t it? Though my guess is their motives are something we will not be able to comprehend.’_  
   
“Our enemy’s purpose is still unknown… As long as we find out who’s behind this, we’ll learn their purpose. So what we must do now is find out who our enemy is. If we do that, we’ll be that much closer to a breakthrough.”  
   
“And, as the handbook implies, we can search for the truth without restraint.” I added, a feeling of determination flowing through me.  
   
“There will definitely be a clue on this island. Let’s start looking.”  
   
Everyone shouted with vigor, goaded on by Byakuya’s leadership.  
   
“Alright, let’s get this crap done! …What’re we looking for again?”  
   
“Akane, were you even listening? We need to find clues that will tell us who our enemy is.” Mahiru looked bewildered at Akane’s clueless smile.  
   
“No problem… No matter how large this organization may be, they will not be able to stand against us… They are destined to fall and turn to ash at the might of my Four Dark Devas of Destruction!” Gundham was in his own little world.  
   
“Wow, hamsters came out of your scarf!” Sonia had stars in her eyes. “Tee-hee! They are so adorable!”  
   
“Adorable…you say…?” He said with disbelief. Suddenly, he brought his scarf over his face as he muttered a quiet ‘thank you’ with a noticeable blush peeking out from his covered face.  
   
Seeing everyone like this, all excited to work together… It was kind of uplifting. I was determined to work alone to solve all of the mysteries if I had to, but with the way things look now, it seems like I won’t have to do everything myself. I had others to rely on, and that made me… _Happy_.  
   
Byakuya spoke up among the babbles. “Anyway, let me just say this. There’s no time to think about something as foolish as killing each other. You must do what you have to do. Observe, speculate, recognize, and comprehend. Even if it seems impossible… Just persevere. But most importantly, follow my lead. I’ll make sure to return you all to your normal lives. This is your leader’s order. Understand?”  
   
“This is so awesome!” Ibuki gushed.  
   
Hiyoko laughed cheerily as she pointed, “That right hand of his is sooo plump. I’ve got the perfect nickname for him: Ham Hands!”  
   
“H-Ham Hands…you say…?” The Togami’s expression was inscrutable. “Hmph… I never thought I’d see the day when someone called me something like that…”  
   
“Why aren’t you getting mad?” Hajime asked with furrowed brows.  
   
“Why would I get mad at something as petty as that…? She observed me directly and thought up a nickname. There’s nothing dishonest about a name like that…” He closed his eyes and began talking to himself. “Perhaps… I’ve always yearned for this. Though it may seem ironic for me to realize that in this particular situation…”  
   
As he said this, I couldn’t help but find it a bit strange. Just what was he talking about…? I felt like there was more to what he was saying than what it appeared, but I wasn’t sure how… A gut feeling, probably.  
   
My head snapped to attention at the next voice.  
   
“All right then. We should listen to Byakuya and not waste our energy thinking about pointless things!” Nagito waved his hand in the air in a carefree manner, a closed-eyed grin on his face. “It’s true that we’re not in the best situation, but it’s also not the worst.” He opened his eyes and held out his hand in a wide gesture. “Because we’re not alone. We have friends we can count on to support each other.”  
   
“Seriously? That sounds so lame!” Hiyoko blurted.  
   
I instantly knew what would come next, and sure enough, Nagito instantly shriveled back at her words, his smile withering slightly. “Ahaha, I knew it. I was thinking to myself just how lame I sounded for saying that.”  
   
“Hiyoko…” I sighed. I turned and patted the fluffy haired boy’s shoulder once more, “Don’t lose confidence because of her; it’s obvious she’s just trying to pick on anyone she can. I really think you’re right---since we’re all becoming friends through this experience, it makes sense to support and rely on each other so we can escape together! So don’t let anyone make you think that what you say is stupid, because in my opinion, they’re wrong.”  
   
“(Y/N)-chan…” Nagito stared at me for a long time, before the cheerful smile returned to his face. “I’m so happy that you would still back me up, even when others think I’m lame.”  
  
“Really, Nagito; don’t mention it. I feel like it needed to be said, so try not to let people get to you so easily if you can help it, alright?”  
   
He closed his eyes and nodded happily, “Right.”  
   
After a few more moments, everyone began departing to begin their search for clues. Being the Ultimate that I was, I was quite eager to set off as soon as possible. We didn’t learn very much about our situation, or who was orchestrating it, though I was doubtful we would at this point in time. To be honest, I knew that the answers wouldn’t come that easily. We could have speculated for days on end, but without any solid clues to go on, we’d just be going in circles, and I wasn’t willing to waste any more time than I already had.  
  
 

-Free Time-

   
   
“(Y/N)-chan, wait!” The lanky boy called after me as I was walking away. My head shifted toward him with a questioning look, before he walked up beside me. He smiled at me as he said, “Why don’t we look for clues together? I’m not the best at information gathering, but maybe by sticking with you, I can learn to be a little better at it. Ah, if you don’t mind, that is.”  
   
I thought for a moment.  
   
 _‘Do I want to hang out with Nagito…?’_  
   
 _‘…Yes.’_  
   
“I don’t mind. You seem like you would catch on pretty quickly, anyway, am I right?” He chuckled at that.  
   
“I wouldn’t really say that, but… I’m hoping you’ll be able to teach me some of your methods; someone as talented as you teaching someone like me would be an honor…” He praised, while at the same time putting himself down. I winced at that.  
   
“‘Someone like you’? Come now, you got accepted at Hope’s Peak just like me, right? I’m no better than you, we just have different things we’re good at. I’m actually pretty fascinated by the fact that your luck got you into the school. If you ever want to talk about it, I’d love to hear about any experiences you’ve had with your luck, and how powerful it is… If it’s ever saved your life, stuff like that.”  
   
Nagito laughed at my enthusiasm, and the laugh sounded… Different somehow, like he was genuinely happy from my words. Maybe I was imagining it, but… It wasn’t quite like the other times when he would let out a chuckle.  
   
We spent our time together searching the two available islands, talking about the possibilities of where we were, or what the mastermind wanted from all of this... I tried to teach Nagito a few techniques I used when it came to efficient information gathering. I told him that even though the internet has a vast array of knowledge, it’s always better to cross-check information you learned on it with expert-written books and thesis’s, and that there are some things you can only truly understand if you witness them firsthand. He understood my words fairly quickly, just as I suspected he would. There was two things I couldn’t teach him though, and that was my quick comprehension and memorization skills. I could read a book on the theory of relativity, and usually remember in excruciating detail of the way the translated words of Albert Einstein had written about the laws of physics and how the speed of light in a vacuum was independent of the motion of all observers.  
   
The funny thing was, I was only good at remembering things from books, or things that are important to me, my memory besides that, was a little poor. For example, for the past two days, I feel as if I’ve forgotten something, but I have no idea what it could be that don't remember. The very notion that I could have forgotten something crucial is almost maddening.  
   
“I’m sure there must be a lot more to learn… But I’m happy that you taught me at least a little bit of how you go about using your ability.” Nagito commented while staring at an antique clock. We’d just finished checking all of the rooms in the hotel, and the only sort of written information was a bible that was inside every bedside table drawer.  
   
“There are some things that I don’t think can be passed on, but if you want, I can try to teach you everything I’ve learned little by little. It might help with our respective investigations if nothing else.” I shrugged, still a bit internally embarrassed that someone had actually taken such an interest in what I do.  
   
He turned, smiled gently and nodded, “I would like that, if you really don’t mind continuing with this. I really had fun, despite our situation.”  
   
“Alright. Well, I’m going to take a break, so I’ll be in my cabin. I’ll see you later, Nagito.” With a small smile and a wave, I turned around and started back toward my cottage. Behind me, I could hear him say, “Yeah, I’m looking forward to the next time we hang out!”  
   
As I left, he stared after me, a strange look in his eyes. Then he whispered softly to himself, so softly no one could have possibly heard him.  
   
 _“I hope we’ll be able to continue hanging out like this…”_  
   
My e-handbook suddenly vibrated against my pocket. Curious, I took it out and read the display.  
   
 _‘Obtained Hope Fragment. Nagito’s report card has been updated based on your experience with him.’_  
   
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that…”  
   
Every time I had introduced myself to someone on the island, I would obtain a ‘Hope Fragment’ from the encounter. It seems like the further your relationship with a person grows on this island, the more Hope Fragments you obtain. It was pretty interesting to say the least.  
   
As I got back to my cabin, I lied down on the sheets of the bed for a moment, suddenly exhausted. Not only was I in poor shape, my food habits weren’t too great either, and so without realizing it for the longest time, my iron levels became so low that I was diagnosed with an iron deficiency, one of the symptoms being extreme exhaustion throughout the day and the ability to focus is severely diminished. I never let it stop me however; research was far too important, especially right now, when everyone’s lives were practically on the line. There was just too much at stake to really care about my health.  
   
“Hey, you!” A shrill voice suddenly shouted. I resisted the urge to jump in the air, before dragging myself slowly into sitting up in the bed. Monokuma was standing there, waiting impatiently for something.  
   
“Oh good, you’re up! Anywaay~ So, I already told another student about this, but I thought I’d let you in on it as well, so listen up!” His jagged grin seemed to grow wider at my expression.  
   
“Sooo, I made some dolls that would reflect my stunning good looks, but I accidentally made way too many. So I want you to go collect them all for me! And don’t worry, you’ll get a special prize whenever you find one hidden on the island~” He explained gleefully.

  
“Alright… But why haven’t you told everyone about this? Wouldn’t it be more fun if everyone is in on it?” I asked with moderate curiosity.  
   
He suddenly looked a bit annoyed. “Because I only want certain people to know, okay!? Sheesh, and here I thought I was doing you a favor! Well whatever, just go collect them will ya? It’ll be you and another student trying to find them, so I would get started if you don’t want to lag behind!” And with that, he disappeared into the floor.  
   
I sat there for a moment, trying to process what had taken place.  
   
“…Monokuma dolls, huh?” I looked up, suddenly finding a replica of Monokuma poking out from behind my TV with a seashell bra and bottom, while wearing a flower by his ear. How lovely. Grabbing it, I looked at it from front to back, and when I looked at the back, there were coins of some sort taped to him. I ripped off the tape and took the coins, which on closer inspection, all had a carving of Monokuma’s face, with the words ‘Monocoin’ etched in below them. I suddenly remembered the ‘MonoMono Machine’ at the beach. You could obtain all sorts of prizes from it, and some would probably make pretty good gifts…  
 

“What a strange island this is…” I smiled. I guess I could make good use of these dolls after all.

  
~


	7. Chapter 1 Daily Life -Part 3-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I sincerely apologize for taking so long to update; I wanted to have this out way sooner, but things didn't exactly go as planned and I never made it to the point where I originally wanted to end this segment... I'm sorry that this long wait happened, I'll try to do better next time. I hope you find some enjoyment from this chapter regardless, and I'll try to respond to any comments that I missed. Thank you for reading!

 

“Come on, come on… Give me something good…” Muttering to the spinning machine most likely wasn’t going to increase my luck, but at the same time, I couldn’t help it. Having already spent nine coins on the mysterious dispenser, so far I’d only gotten items that I was confident no one would particularly enjoy; Bojobo dolls, Hagakure-Style Crystal, Mineral Water, ‘Millennium Prize Problems’, Bottle Mail, Dull Kitchen Knife, Nib Pen, Cinnamon Tea, and Spy Spikes. I suppose I really did have just average luck…

 

I knew that I didn’t really need to give people gifts in order to befriend them, but for some reason or another, I just felt like I really wanted to. To be able to give these classmates of mine some gifts, and to observe their pleased expressions… I wanted to do something nice for them, in this horrible situation we’re in, to take comfort in the little things—this machine would help me do that.

 

As I finally inserted my last coin, I turned the crank and watched with anticipation as it shook and vibrated a little, before a container rolled out.

 

I gently grabbed the plastic ball, not bothering to read the label this time, twisting it open to reveal…

 

A Kiss Note. I didn’t even need to ponder to know who would love to have something like this.

 

“Well Hanamura-san, I guess this means we’re going to be spending some time together.” I laughed as I said this; despite how perverted TeruTeru obviously was, I had a feeling I would be able to handle him just fine; after all, I had this sneaking suspicion that underneath his calm and charming surface, laid a different person entirely. Most importantly, this would be an opportunity to get to know a little bit about how he is when he isn’t constantly trying to seduce girls.

 

Stuffing my final prize within one of my many pockets, I strolled out of the beach, a calm, contented look taking over. It was only the first day after the horrible killing game started, but for the moment, I felt at ease. If there was going to be a murder, I did not think it would happen quite yet at least. I wanted to believe it wouldn’t happen at all, that all of these unique individuals would never have to die at the hands of each other, however…

 

I knew that would be far too naïve.

 

So in the meantime, with these thoughts I would try my best to find any useful information I could to help us escape.

 

Looking on the map section of my e-handbook, it indicated that TeruTeru was visiting the ranch for the moment. Taking note of this, I put my electronic away as Usami’s Ranch was now coming into view.

 

“Hey (Y/N). Where are you off to?” I almost missed Nagito who’d been walking in the opposite direction, stop and ask with a bright smile on his face. I turned to face him and rubbed my neck; how was he going to react when I told him…? There was definitely a bit of tension between the two, TeruTeru’s flirty ways not being forgotten by this wavy haired boy.

 

“Oh, I was actually just on my way to talk to Hanamura-san…” I trailed off, seeing his smile slowly drop and morph into a frown, his face now showing concern.

 

“Really? But… I really don’t think you should be alone with him, I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was bold enough to try something with you.” He reasoned, and I shifted slightly under his careful gaze. I could understand why he would think that way, but nonetheless…

 

“The thing is… I’m not entirely convinced that’s he’s just some perverted boy. I have this feeling, when I look at him, I can’t help but think that he’s not acting entirely how he really is; there’s more to him, I’m sure of it—if I get to know him better, then I’ll see. I don’t think he’s the type to actually assault someone.” I said this slowly at first, but by the end I was confident. There was no doubt in my mind TeruTeru was hiding something about himself, and I wanted him to have the courage to reveal it to me.

 

Nagito still looked really unsure, his eyes searching mine, perhaps looking for a sign that I might reconsider… After a few moments though, he only sighed, shaking his head. “I’m still worried, but… If you’re that confident, then I won’t stop you… Let’s just hope that for his sake, you aren’t wrong in your assumption.” I felt his last sentence held a very dark meaning, so trying to avoid thinking too much about it, I clapped my greyish-eyed friend on the back, uttering a ‘thank you for trusting me, Nagito!’ before I picked up my pace towards the farm building, waving behind me as I went.

 

Seeing this, Nagito only let out another breath, this one seeping with exasperation as his cheeks let off a soft glow.

 

The tiny hat wearing chef leaned against the wooden fence, humming as he watched the only cow stand in its spot, tail flicking back and forth as it munched on fresh grass lazily.

 

The sound of footsteps crunching in the dirt alerted him of the trespasser, but upon noticing who was approaching him, a dirty curl of his lips and his sudden eagerness was easily recognizable.

 

“Hmhm~ A visit from (Y/N)-chan? Really, it must be my lucky day.” The sudden lack of formality didn’t really bother me, but it was surprising still.

 

_Did I still want to hang out with him?_

_…Yes._

 

“Hey Hanamura-san. I was just wondering if you wanted to chat for a bit.”

 

“Of course I would~ Having a talk with a beautiful woman like you would be a pleasure, Miss (Y/N).”

 

“Good; I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about yourself.” The flirty advances were much more obvious this time around, but I only shrugged it off; this was all to get to know him better as a person.  
 

“Oh, but I would much rather get to know _you_ better first.” He was obviously trying to direct attention away from himself, but after I gave him a bit of a pleading look, adding as sweetly as possible, “please Hanamura-san?” He crumbled easily and even began blushing!

 

“W-Well, ahem, it depends on what you would like to know! The time I had a fierce battle to the death with the Shogun of Taste? There was also that time I visited and got lost in the country of Africa with only a bag of flour and a stick of butter and managed to create a whole grain feast for a mob of hungry children… Oh yeah, there was also when I—”

 

I listened on in bewilderment, wondering if half of the stories he was referencing were even true. Being able to coax a terrorist leader into stopping a plan to bomb an entire town district with just a plate of pasta… It sounded absurd, but then again, stranger things have occurred in my lifetime. Not to mention, he was the Ultimate Cook, so it wasn’t too far-fetched to imagine that some of these feats could have transpired somehow. He’d even let it slip that his mom was back home waiting for him at their family diner, but quickly tried to cover it up by talking about more crazy stories. I couldn’t help but find how he didn’t want to talk about his mother…curious.

 

I spent a while with TeruTeru, allowing myself to mostly indulge in a few of his wild and fantastical tales.

 

“It seems like you’ve experienced a lot in your years, Hanamura-sa—”

 

“Please my dear, aren’t we past all of these tiring formalities? Just call me TeruTeru.”

 

I giggled; he really wasn’t one to hold back. “Alright, fine… TeruTeru.” A warm feeling invaded my gut as I said his first name. It was probably… The sensation of us growing closer.

 

“That sounds much better~ I have to say though; I’m surprised you listened to me talk for so long. I didn’t even get to learn anything about you! Ah well, I guess that’s okay… As long as you tell me next time, I’ll even make a delicious meal for you for when you do. Look forward to it, okay?”

 

“Alright, it’s only fair that I do so since you opened up so much to me. I’m actually kind of glad, being able to taste the cooking of the Ultimate Chef is an honor… Well, I’d better go since it’s late; I’ll see you later, TeruTeru.”

 

He raised his voice in an expressive reply as I left, the beeping and vibration in my pocket notifying me of my success in strengthening the bond I had with the boy.

 

I was glad; he liked to share a lot of ridiculous stories with me, but I confirmed my suspicions that, although he tried to deny it, seeing him become flustered and almost speechless…there was way more to him than meets the eye—his default flirtatious countenance was one of many sides to his overall character, and I was already interested in our next meeting. Perhaps I could learn even more about his family life?

 

Thinking about how much I was looking forward to getting to know the chef better, a boy with bouncy white tendrils entered my mind. Startled by this, I stopped walking.

 

_‘Nagito…? Huh…’_

It was true that ever since we introduced ourselves to each other, how he was the first person I met on the island… I felt a lot calmer around him than the others, I’ll admit. With everyone else, there was still this lingering unease, this sense of wariness that cautioned me to be alert and ready to defend myself at any time.

 

But with him, it was different somehow. As if I…

 

I…

 

“Hey, (Y/N).” Hearing _his_ voice suddenly calling out to me, I realized that I was already back at my cabin—to which I also noticed that Nagito was standing in front of my door immediately after.

 

He stood up straight after he said this, hands in his pockets as he smiled at me nonchalantly.

 

“I’m sorry if I’m bothering you, but I was a bit worried ever since you told me you were hanging out with TeruTeru, so I decided it might be a good idea check on you. He didn’t do anything strange, did he?” There was a hint of that concerned tone in his voice, to which I simply shook my head.

 

“No, he didn’t. I’m quite happy to say that I am making some progress however—I think my hunch was right; he’s not all flirting and pick-up lines.”

 

Nagito seemed to mull over this, “Really? Well, then again, I suppose it would be kind of strange if there wasn’t anything else to his personality. But it’s funny, though… I thought your area of expertise was knowledge of the world at large, not of character traits. Perhaps I was wrong in that assumption?” He smiled as he said this, as though he liked this conclusion.

 

“I don’t know if I would say that. I just get a hunch about certain people sometimes, that’s all.” I shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. I never thought of myself as a good judge of character. If anything, I was probably about average in that field.

 

He looked surprised for a moment. “You don’t think so? But, to be honest, I feel like I’m almost witnessing a real talent at work. If what you said about TeruTeru is true, then that really is impressive, to be able to work out a different personality from someone entirely...”

 

As I was about to voice my uncertainty once more, one of the nearby monitors echoed throughout the darkening sky.

 

“Ahem! Hope’s Peak Academy School Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make… Hello everyone! The fun time you’ve all been waiting for is about to begin! I wonder what festivities await you? …Oops, don’t wanna to ruin the surprise! It was a little “meh” at first, but anyway, please gather at Jabberwock Park!” Monokuma’s voice faded as the monitors turned themselves off and his appearance of sitting in a chair holding a martini glass vanished.

 

_How is it even possible for a machine to drink alcohol, or anything? It must have some sort of protective layer covering its circuitry. Or maybe it’s just for show? Regardless of that…_

“I wonder what he’s cooked up this time; more incentive to kill each other? Or perhaps a bit more explanation on why he’s doing all of this.” I pondered aloud.

 

Nagito’s gloomy expression is the thing that greeted me as I turned. “Well, whatever it is… I don’t think it’ll be for our benefit. Let’s go together, okay? It’s probably not a good idea for any of us to be alone right now. Not to mention that I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you on the way over.” Saying this, he gently took my hand in his and lightly pulled me in the proper direction.

 

“R-Right,” I stuttered, suddenly a bit embarrassed at him holding my hand in his. Why was that? Before, I was entirely fine with him dragging me along the beach to the other island, or even when he pushed me into the water, and later when he grabbed me and pulled me to shore when I pretended to drown.

 

So why was I suddenly…?

 

It wasn’t that I disliked it or anything, rather…

 

I was quite glad that it was dark out; I couldn’t tell whether or not I might have been blushing. Not entirely sure why, I focused on his hand laced with mine. Nagito’s hand was surprisingly soft, almost softer than my own somehow, and a little cold from the chill of the night air, but was gradually growing warmer the longer our body heat mingled together.

 

I wasn’t really the type to say such things aloud, but it felt kind of nice.

 

Nagito turned around, seeing whatever face I was making, before swiftly and carefully letting go of my hand.

 

“Ah—I’m sorry; I got carried away again. I shouldn’t just grab your hand like that…” He chuckled sheepishly, clearly regretting his forward actions.

 

Normally, this would be where the girl would stereotypically yell at the guy and call him an idiot and to stop doing things like that without their permission. That would be the case usually…

 

But we weren’t in some anime or video game.

 

And I was never one to get aggravated easily… Which is why I could only smile.

 

“Nagito… If you waste all of your time worrying about pointless things like that, how will you ever bring yourself to think about what really matters?” I wasn’t berating him; my voice was light-hearted as I asked him.

 

“I really don’t mind things like that, and I don’t want you to have to fuss over things to make sure you don’t upset me. So if you feel like doing something, don’t hold back if you don’t want to.” It wasn’t a complete lie, as I did think this way to some extent; most things don't bother me. But there was something that I didn't bother mentioning...

 

“(Y/N)-chan…” He nearly whispered, an odd look on his face. He smiled an unusual smile before saying, almost to himself, “the more I talk to you, the more interesting you turn out to be.”

 

We began walking again. “Not really. I’m just a regular old teenager.”

 

I could faintly see the tips of his tresses sway in denial of this as we finally reached the park once more. “ _I can’t say I’ve ever thought of you that way_.”

 

I wasn’t going to bother arguing this time.

 

Glancing around the area, it was obvious that Monokuma was up to something. In front of where the statue used to be, a stage-like area had been setup, along with two giant black speakers and a microphone, and what looked like orange and white-striped bulb-shaped paper lanterns. It looks like we arrived a little after most people; I could spy Byakuya in the midst of Chiaki, TeruTeru, Akane…

 

The only ones yet to arrive were Hajime, and Peko, the latter I’d seen standing in front of the sign to the park, wearing a calculative expression.

 

“It seems once again; Hajime will be the last to arrive.” Byakuya ‘tched’ in annoyance.

 

“Well, that aside, that stage definitely wasn’t here before.” Chiaki voiced with apprehension.

 

“I should think that would have been obvious from the start.” The Togami sighed, before continuing. “That bear is most likely going to try to deceive us into doing what he wants—this is why I want all of you to remain on your guard. No matter what he tells us.”

 

“Byakuya sounds confident at least.” Komaeda grinned at seeing the commands of our leader. “I’m sure that with him around, we’ll all have a tough time trying to kill someone if it ever came down to it.”

 

“I would hope so…” I murmured. Something about this quickly didn’t feel right. What was it that Monokuma wanted this time? I had this fear of what he might say, growing with my own anticipation.

 

Hajime finally arrived within the next few moments, to which the Ultimate Affluent Progeny had immediate say in, “Once again, you’re late… Did you lose your nerve?”

 

Hajime stared at the large boy with a troubled frown.

 

“…Anyway, it seems everyone is here.” Byakuya finished.

 

“Ugh, what is it this time…? So friggin’ annoying…” Kazuichi grumbled unhappily.

 

The yakuza in our group scoffed and looked at him, “Then you shouldn’t have come.”

 

The mechanic rubbed his beanie with his shark-like teeth bared in a frown, “Well…I mean…I don’t know what’ll happen to me if I *don’t* come…”

 

“Heh,” Fuyuhiko smirked, “since none of us know what’ll happen, maybe you should be the one to test that out.”

 

Mahiru, who’d I’d already seen starting to become agitated, suddenly butted in with her hands on her hips, “Hey! You may talk like you’re tough, wiseguy, but you wouldn’t be here unless you were scared, too!”

 

“What…!?” His eyes narrowed.

 

Even though he was beginning to get angry, she kept going. “I guess even a big bad yakuza like you must’ve been scared of that monster, huh?”

 

“What the fuck did you just say!?” He glared menacingly at her.

 

Thankfully, Nagito spoke up from beside me with a nervous expression. “S-Stop it, you two. Fighting among friends isn’t good!”

 

“What? Did you just say, “friend”?” For a second, the tiny gangster looked bewildered, but a second later his face twisted in anger once more, “I’m not your friend, dumbass! When did I ever become friends with you bastards?”

 

“Eh…?” Hajime spluttered.

 

“Hmph, let me be perfectly clear…” His head was bowed down, before he arched it upwards to reveal the evil grin that had formed. “…I can do it, y’know.”

 

“Huh?” The chef gasped.

 

“Y-You… What did you just say…?” Mahiru’s pale skin had turned almost greyish in complexion.

 

‘Do it’…? Was he referring to murdering someone?

 

_So he’s saying he has what it takes to commit the act… That’s a pretty bold statement. Then again, it wouldn’t be strange for a yakuza to say something like that, with the situations they deal with and all… Whether or not he’s all talk however remains to be seen._

Fuyuhiko continued to grin in spite of everyone’s bewildered gazes, “Oh? You didn’t hear me? Then I’ll repeat myself just once for you. I said… I can do it.”

 

Still, my face remained blank, even as a burst of chatter broke out and Nagito lowly spoke, “What are you saying, Fuyuhiko?” his complexion had grown paler as well. He glances at me and Hajime, “Let’s…just calm him down for now.”

 

I nodded, but…

 

To be honest… I didn’t know whether I should take him seriously or not. For the moment… I don’t really buy it. But just in case…

 

As I took a step forward for the initiative, Byakuya held an arm in front of me, eyeing me in a way that said, ‘hold on.’

 

Understanding this, I took a step back again—if there was anyone who could handle this, our chosen leader would be the best candidate.

 

 I wasn’t very proficient when it came to people anyhow…

 

But instead of him speaking up like I’d expected, it was Hajime who decided to be the one to diffuse the situation.

 

“Fuyuhiko… Why don’t you calm down a bit?” He said this carefully, in an attempt to not anger the boy further, but it was a fruitless attempt.

 

“Don’t talk to me like we’re friends or something!” He snarled at Hajime who took a step back at his tone.

 

The blonde began smirking again, “I live in a completely different world than you bastards… Kill or be killed… That’s the kind of word I live in.” He turned his face away from the rest of us.

 

“Heh, the current rules make more sense to me than that “Play nice and get along” crap.”

 

“If you don’t stop it right now…I’m going to get seriously angry!” Mahiru glared.

 

“Don’t treat me like a kid, bitch!”

 

Peko then raised her voice slightly above them to get their attention; “Just stop already… This kind of fighting will not get us anywhere.”

 

That didn’t stop Fuyuhiko from flying off the handle however. “Shut the hell up! There’s no way I’m dealing with this Kumbaya crap!”

 

His voice lowered threateningly, “If any of you guys wanna die, step forward… I’ll fuckin’ kill you right now…”

 

“Sounds fun… Gimme your best shot…!” Akane’s nails suddenly looked like claws as she bared her teeth in a wild grin.

 

“Wh-What’s gonna happen if you’re this easily provoked!?” Hajime stammered.

 

This was really getting out of hand; I looked to Byakuya, pleading for his help silently. He glanced at me, sighed, before crossing his arms and using a loud tone of voice, interrupting the quarrel.

 

“Enough!”

 

“…Huh?” Fuyuhiko stared at him with an unimpressed frown.

 

Byakuya’s gaze was far away from us as he said to him, “Fuyuhiko…I understand what you’re saying.”

 

His eyes closed as he smiled ever so thinly, “I do not intend to dismiss your feelings. There was a time when I thought the same way as you…”

 

“Are you treating me like a kid, too!?” A vein pulsated on his forehead.

 

“But what would reckless killing accomplish? If you fail to get away with it, you know you’ll be executed… Or perhaps…that’s what you really want? If so…”

 

“You’d only be killing yourself to run away from this predicament. That’s what a child would do.” His eyes pierced into Fuyuhiko with such intensity, that even I was a bit surprised.

 

“Wh-What did you say…!?” The petite boy stared at him with a mix of disbelief and anger.

 

The heir’s tone suddenly changed to one full of conviction; “Listen! So long as we’re here, I will not let any of you die! I will not let any of you become a victim! And that goes for you too, Fuyuhiko. I won’t let you die!”

 

I was very shocked by these words. I never expected someone of his standing to say something so compassionate… But they warmed my heart a little, how he said them with such seriousness.

 

Fuyuhiko’s hardened shell seemed to waver for a moment. “Wh-What the hell…? Everything you’re saying…it’s just empty promises!”

 

Usually I would think that was the case as well, but the way he said it just then… I could almost feel the sincerity from him.

 

“It’s true my words would ring hollow if anyone else spoke them…” He gave a closed eyed soft smirk. “But I am Byakuya Togami, and I am destined to bring these promises to fruition.”

 

“Yowza! He’s soooo cool!” The confidence Byakuya radiated caused Ibuki to fawn over him once more.

 

“Mhm, I agree…” As well as TeruTeru, apparently.

 

Almost as if he didn’t want to admit his carelessness, Fuyuhiko conceded with, “Heh… I don’t care what you say. I’m just gonna do whatever I feel like…”  
 

Byakuya nodded, “Do what you will. However, remember what I said earlier.” ‘I will not let any of you become a victim.’ That is the duty I have appointed to myself."

 

Realizing that Byakuya had really gotten through to him, I sent Fuyuhiko a small smile, to which his eyes widened a fraction, before he abruptly turned his head to the side, making a small ‘tch’ sound.

 

Such a tsundere-like character.

 

I looked to Nagito to see that he was grinning. He must have noticed the yakuza’s reaction to my silent encouragement. The situation seems to be resolved for now.

 

And then, as if to ruin the moment, Monokuma sprang up from the ground, though strangely, he was wearing a blue suit with a red tie, as if he were some sort of businessman. My spirits lowered a bit at his arrival.

 

“Um…” He started.

 

“Uwaah!?” Hajime made a strange noise, startled. Though it wasn’t long since we’d known Monokuma, I think I was getting used to his popping up unexpectedly, as weird as that may be.

 

“It looked like you guys were arguing…so I wasn’t sure when to actually show up… It looks like I showed up at an awkward time!”

 

I didn’t find it all that awkward, but I suppose by an outsider’s perspective, it might seem that way… I was somewhat proud of both Byakuya and Fuyuhiko for coming to a resolution though.

 

“…Why…are you dressed like that?” Chiaki was the first to bring it up, her head cocked to the side.

 

Almost oblivious, the bear answered, “Oh, didn’t I mention it in my recent broadcast? It’s my costume for the fun time!”

 

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re going to…” Peko sweat-dropped.

 

Monokuma nodded, “That’s right! Since we’re on a tropical island, I’m here to do my two-man comedy routine!”

 

“Wh-Why does it matter that we’re on a tropical island?” Mikan protested weakly.

 

“But can you do a two-man comedy routine all by yourself?” As Sonia asked this, I suddenly had a feeling…

_‘Oh, he’s not going to use—’_

“Of course not. That’s why I brought my partner.”

Lo and behold, Monomi (was I the only one who thought it was strange how her name had changed?) appeared from the ground, a frilly pink dress covering from her neck to knees.

 

“Ha-wa-wa! What is this!?”

 

“Hmm, that figures…” Nekomaru and I seemed to be on the same page.

 

“Now then, without further ado, I’m pleased to present ‘Monokuma’s Side-Splitting Live Two-Man Comedy Show’!”

 

Unsurprisingly, the robotic rabbit raised her voice in shock, “Huh? I didn’t hear anything about this! Are you telling me I have to improvise!?”

 

“…I’m speechless.” Gundham deadpanned, to which I uttered, “You and me both, Tanaka-san…”

 

While I’ve never thought of Usami—er, Monomi as the humorous type, and Monokuma seemed more sadistic then comedy based, the show shouldn’t be _that_ bad, right…?

 

_…_

 

 

I guess I should’ve expected it, but it was god-awful. Monokuma was making morbid jokes while Monomi was very oblivious the whole time and went along with it.

 

The whole thing just felt very disjointed and uncomfortable, and I even saw Nagito cringe a few times, while I mostly just hung my head. The saddest part of it all was, well…

 

Before Monokuma appeared on stage, he handed each of us a button which would sound a laugh-track, the kind you would hear often on mediocre comedy shows. It was almost as if he knew the only people who would be laughing at this performance, were pre-recorded ones. For some reason, I spotted Hajime pressing it from time to time, though nobody else ever bothered for obvious reasons.

 

“This is truly the worst…” Nagito sighed, clearly trying to contain his agony.

 

I patted him on the back with a weak smile that was supposed to be reassuring, “I’m sure it’ll be over soon… _At least I hope so.”_ The last part was a whisper.

 

Though suddenly, Monokuma said something that made my ears focus in attention.

 

“You guys better be careful, too. Ya know, since Monomi’s actually a bad guy.”

 

_‘What? Monomi is…against us? But why would that be…? No, hold on, I’m getting ahead of myself. Just think it through first.’_

Monomi was the one who first brought us to the island, that’s true, but so far, she’s only done things to try and help us get along. It was Monokuma who had turn this ‘school trip’ into something to actually worry about, though the concept _was_ suspicious before that.

 

“She’s as bad as the first villain the hero fights in a teen manga!”

 

“They’re always the underdog!” Monomi exclaimed.

 

Monokuma continued on, “Believe me, it’s a fact that Monomi’s a villain. I’ll let you all in on a little secret of hers… Monomi…went out of her way to erase your memories!”

 

“Say what!?...Wait, huh?” For a moment, it seemed like she was genuinely confused, but the monochrome robot paid her no mind.

 

“You guys don’t even remember how you got to this island, am I right? Well, that’s because Monomi stole your memories!”  
 

The android female counter-part turned from confusion to what I perceived to be panic, “Wh-what are you saying all of a sudden!?”

 

I felt like I couldn’t even think, my mind had shut down as I was listening to Monokuma talk about something that Monomi was plainly against being brought up. What did he mean…?

 

“But wait, there’s more! She didn’t just steal your boring memories, like how you guys got to this island. She completely took away your memories of the years you spent at Hope’s Peak Academy! What a shocker!”

 

“…Ha-wa-wa!”

 

…What…?

 

“Phew… I feel great now that I’ve shared that with you. Seriously, memory loss plots are so old hat nowadays… Only a total hack would wait until the end of the story to reveal a clichéd twist like that!”

 

“P-Please stop!” Monomi begged.

 

“Puhuhu… Wasn’t that a huge surprise? In truth, you guys aren’t freshmen students at all. You guys just thought you were because you’ve lost all of your school memories! Quick, someone get a plagiarist because I feel like I’ve heard this story before!”

 

“Seriously, this is bad in so many ways!”

 

I think I stopped listening at that point. Or maybe it was the fact that my mind just couldn’t register any new information for the moment. I felt like I could hardly breathe, like my brain would melt and leak through my ears from the strain of wracking my brain so hard.

 

Was this it? Was this the feeling I had in the back of my mind, the reason why it felt as if there was something I was missing? The strange disconnect, the feeling of having forgotten something though not being able to fathom what…

 

_‘If… If I’m not a freshman, then…_

_How many years worth of memories are gone?’_

I didn’t even react when Monokuma punched Monomi in the cheek in annoyance.

 

In the corner of my eye, I could see Nagito staring straight ahead at the stage, his mouth hung ajar, before his gaze shot to me for a moment. He was pale in the face, but I could hardly blame him. I couldn’t blame anyone, when I myself felt as though I were going through what was close to a mental breakdown.

 

No one said a word for a moment.

 

Hajime made a confused noise, while Nagito turned to the each of us, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. “…Wh-What did he mean?”

 

Monokuma shot up from the ground near us, asking “How was it? Was it funny? Or was the comedy too high brow for you?”

 

As Byakuya began to question Monokuma, my legs gave out and I fell to my knees, my hands grasping my head.

 

“(Y-Y/N)-chan…!” Nagito crouched down beside me quickly.

 

A white-faced Hajime turned to us, concern written across his face, “H-Hey...! A-Are you okay, (L/N)-san...?”

 

I could hardly hear them, their voices all blurring together.

 

My memories… They are the most important part of me. They are what make me, shape me into the person that I am. Without them, I…

 

It’s almost as if I’m an incomplete version of my own self. What was I missing? What had happened during my time at Hope’s Peak Academy…?

 

“Ah…” I suddenly felt a cold hand on my forehead, and I turned my eyes to see that Nagito’s face had gotten very close, a worried frown marring his face. After a moment, he took his hand away, sighing a bit.

 

“You don’t seem to be sick, so that’s good. It looks like you only collapsed from the shock, but I shouldn’t be surprised. I don’t feel very good about any of this either.” He admitted, though he looked as though he was still a bit troubled. He was about to say more when another voice cut him off.

 

“Looks like she couldn’t handle the truth! Ah well, I guess it would be pretty shocking to be on the receiving end of this—I’m so glad I’m not you guys right now!” Monokuma’s grating voice pitched in.

 

“This bear…” Nagito muttered, his hand moving to my back in a form of comfort.

 

“But man…how many years has it been since you guys first entered Hope’s Peak Academy…? I wonder what happened to your friends and family? They’re probably worried sick about you… Maybe?” He talked as if he had no idea, but I already knew it was the exact opposite.

 

Everyone was dead-set on denying even the possibility.

 

“Our school memories were stolen!? That’s ridiculous!”

 

“That’s right! There’s no way I have memory loss!”

 

Monomi recovered from her injury and spoke up quickly, “D-Don’t…don’t listen to what he says…”

 

“Blub-blub-blub-blub… Limit breached…” Ibuki foamed at the mouth.

 

“I refuse to believe such a thing. Yep, everything’s okay… I don’t believe it…” TeruTeru was sweating profusely in his denial.

 

After Mikan asked if it was all a joke or a lie, Monokuma replied with, “Nope, it’s not a lie. If it was a lie…then how do you explain this? The moment you arrived at Hope’s Peak Academy, you all experienced a strange dizziness…”

 

“Wha-!?” Hajime gasped.

 

I knew already that he wasn’t lying… I wasn’t going to try to deny it, because I could feel that it was the truth. Part of my memory was gone, the feeling of misplacing an important memory…wasn’t wrong.

 

That’s why this was all so much harder for me to bear.

 

“How do you know that…?” Hajime asked after a moment.

 

“Puhuhu… Why, that was the cut-off point. Your memories beyond that point have been completely removed.”

 

Hajime stammered, “Wh-What the hell…!?”

 

Yet still, people refused to acknowledge it.

 

“This all seems so bizzare… I don’t really want to believe it.” Nagito commented in a low voice, one that probably I could only hear.

 

“It’s not a lie.”

 

“Huh…?” Nagito looked at me curiously, waiting for me to continue.

 

“I know he’s telling the truth. I’ve felt it, this strange…disconnect, ever since I entered the classroom, as if I wasn’t quite myself, and that feeling in the back of my mind, the feeling I get when I’ve forgotten something important. I’ve brushed it off until now, but hearing this, I can’t think of it as a coincidence any longer.”

 

“I see…” He whispered, perhaps to himself. “Then maybe… We really could have forgot everything after we got to Hope’s Peak.” He finished grimly.

 

“You believe me?” I was surprised; I had only told him about the feeling that I had, he only had my word… I wasn’t even sure if the feeling was the same for anyone else.

 

He smiled slightly, “The way you talk, I have no choice but to believe in you. Plus, I’ve never really pegged you as the type to lie about such a thing anyway. I might not believe it when someone like Monokuma says it, but I’d like to be able to trust you on this, even if I don’t like it.”

 

It might have been dumb, but I was somewhat touched by his words. I forced myself to perk-up my lips back at him, if only a little.

 

“You guys just don’t _want_ to believe it, right? But don’t worry…I’m a generous guy! I can give you back your memories!” The bear continued, undeterred by the widespread refusal.

 

“Huh!?” Monomi gasped.

 

“However…there’s a catch.” He said with a wide grin.

 

Chiaki, who’d been quiet until now, spoke up. “Don’t tell me the catch is…” Her face showed nervousness.

 

It was obvious what he was going to say before he said it.

 

“Puhuhu…figured it out yet? That’s right, you guys have to kill each other! That’s my bargaining point!” He shouted gleefully.

 

“Ha-wa-wa!”

 

“You guys wanna know, right? You want your school memories returned to you, right? Then you better start killing! A penny for your thoughts, and a murder for your memories!” Monokuma seemed overjoyed, as if he knew he’d won this time.

 

Akane looked pissed. “Hey… Stop runnin’ your mouth.”

 

His head cocked to the side, “My, my…why so angry? I’m just providing you all with a motive from the bottom of my big, generous heart! Otherwise, you cowards wouldn’t get any killing done!”

 

He giggles, “Well, that’s not your fault. Humans are natural born cowards. They even cry after their mom squeezes ‘em out. That’s why I’m giving you a motive. Think of it as an excuse to commit your future crimes.”

 

Byakuya, understandably upset, raises his voice, “S-Stop this at once…! Do you really think your delusional rambling will convince us to commit murder…?”

 

“I don’t even believe that memory loss crap in the first place!” Mahiru angrily points at our furry captor with a shaking finger.

 

“But more than that, what you guys really don’t believe is each other, right?” He provoked.

 

“Wh-What do you mean…!?”

 

“You guys don’t know each other. Which means…” He bared his teeth in malicious pleasure before he said anything.

 

His next sentence made my head hurt once more.  
 

“None of you realize that a traitor is hiding among you, right?"

 

“What…?” The ahoge haired boy in our group uttered.

 

“Hey, why are there seventeen of you? If a total of sixteen students from Hope’s Peak Academy were arranged to come to this island… That’s right! There’s probably a traitor I don’t even know about hiding among the group! …Just kidding.”

 

“Wh-What are you saying… All this shit about traitors doesn’t make any sense!”

 

“…It’s obviously nonsense.”

 

The bear-bot kept pushing. “For real, you guys… How can you be so sure? You guys don’t know anything about each other. You don’t know each other’s true natures. That’s why, if one of you is planning to kill someone, it’s impossible for any of you to know.”

 

As much as we don’t want to admit it, he was right. There was no way to know… But I was desperate for it to never transpire. I want to be able to trust the people around me, but right now it’s not really possible.

 

“Even so…if there really is a traitor, isn’t that gosh darn awful? Pretending to be your ally and tricking you guys… It makes sense for someone like that to get killed, right?”

 

Suddenly he laughs, a repulsive, ugly cackle. “C’mon, make the pre-emptive strike! It’s first come, first served and the winner takes all! If you want to survive, you gotta find that person before they find you… Aaaahahahaha!” After that horrible laugh, he disappears into the ground, saying all he wanted to say.

 

It would be a while before any of us moved. The reality of it all seemed to finally register to all of us, and there was this sense of misery, of despair…

 

I didn’t want to let it get to me—I wanted to be strong. I wanted to, but…

 

Slowly, conversations started happening again, questioning what had just happened, if it was all true, and Byakuya, who tried to keep us all together.

 

I never spoke during any of this.

 

We tried to question Monomi, but she only answered very vaguely, “Everyone needs to look to the future… That’s why…you shouldn’t look back to the past… Keep your eyes fixed upon the future. L-Let’s do our very best!” before she disappeared as well.

 

Disheartened, a few of us voiced our doubts, that the idea of memory loss and a traitor were all just too hard to believe.

 

I just stayed on the ground, not really listening to their chatter. We wouldn’t know the truth about the traitor no matter how much we discussed it; there was no solid evidence. The only thing I didn’t need evidence to know was that my memory was gone. The memories of my time at that prestigious school, the memories of what I learned, what I did, the friends I might have made.

 

It was all gone.

 

After Monokuma made his night time announcement, most of us began to scatter. It was only when a few of us were left did I try to get up.

 

“Whoa, hey…! Hold on, I’ll help you.” Nagito had stayed by my side the whole time, even after I assured Hajime that I was okay before he left for the night.

 

The wavy haired teen stood up and grasped my hand, pulling me up as gently as he could and steadying me to make sure I wouldn’t topple over again.

 

“I’ll walk with you. You can lean on me if you’re having a hard time.” He said kindly, and I nodded, muttering a quiet ‘thank you’, and ‘you don’t have to’.

 

“It wouldn’t feel right to let you go off by yourself when you collapsed earlier. I really don’t mind helping at all.”

 

“You’re a very nice person, Ko…” I said quietly as we walked, a smile coming to my face. Nagito looked at me with wide eyes, as if he couldn’t believe I had said such a thing. “What’s wrong…?”

 

He snapped out of it a few seconds later. “Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just… No one’s ever said anything like that to me before.” He confessed, his face turning a bit pink as his mouth curl upwards, though I couldn’t really see it since it was really dark now.

   
“Really? I find that really strange. For a kind guy like you to not be acknowledged for it… It sounds nonsensical.”

 

“Aha, I didn’t really find it strange; it’s been that way my entire life, so I never really expected anyone to tell me that I was nice or kind… That makes hearing it from you a great privilege.”

 

“Well, like I said I’m no one special… And while I’m not sure how you grew up Nagito… I’ll make sure that no matter what, you will be able to have a lot of happy moments from now on.”  
 

“(Y-Y/N)…” I could hear how bewildered he was from his voice, but I smiled.

 

When we made it to our cabins, my slumber came as soon as my head hit the sheets.

 

One thing was for sure. I wasn’t going to let everything end in a complete tragedy.

 

Not after I made a promise.

~


	8. Chapter 1 Daily Life -Part 4- (End)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, my apology to you guys for making you wait so long on the last one! I hope it is to your liking~ It's a long one, haha. Feel free to comment and tell me your thoughts!

 

“Ahem, Hope’s Peak Academy’s School Executive Committee has an announcement to make! _Gooood_ morning everyone! Looks like today is gonna be another perfect, tropical day! Let’s show some enthusiasm and give it our all today!” Once again, that ear piercing voice is the thing that scares me into wakefulness. I was a lot more sensitive than the average person to sudden noises, mostly due to never actually using an alarm clock.

 

_‘Why he insists on relaying those same two messages at the same times every day like clockwork is beyond my comprehension.’_

It was the morning after yet another horrible reveal. It felt as if it was turning into a routine of sorts at this point, the purpose likely being to inspire a bit of hope for our situation, before the mastermind decides to crush it and fill us with anguish. While not having my memories of Hope’s Peak and how we arrived to these islands got to me more than I would like to admit, I wanted to remain optimistic overall.

 

In order for us to survive, I needed to be positive, and everyone else did too. Otherwise…

 

“No… It’s pointless thinking about it now. I won’t let it come to that. _I won’t.”_ Though it was only a whisper, the determination I felt boiled deep in my heart.

 

How strange… Even though I barely knew these people, something made me very desperate to protect them. Was it because I was friends with all of them... Back then?

 

I let out a laugh; to think that I might have made so many friends, only to forget them all later… It instilled a bittersweet sensation.

 

_‘Alright; enough procrastinating. I need to get ready to meet everyone in the restaurant.’_

Byakuya had mentioned briefly before we left Jabberwock Park that he wanted to hold another meeting, most likely to discuss what we’d heard last night, or to come up with a plan for moving forward. Either way, it was important to try and keep up moral, otherwise someone might become desperate. The possibility was becoming more painful to imagine by the day, but I had to remain objective.

 

Frankly, it was uncomfortable showering in a cabin with a camera rolling, even if it wasn’t facing me. I scrubbed my hair with shampoo and my body with soap as quickly as possible. Coincidentally, there were quite a few pairs of the exact outfit I wore folded inside the bathroom. Again, I had to ignore how the identical clothing matched my body measurements perfectly…

 

I was about to finish brushing my hair out when I heard a sudden knock on my door. My eyes locked onto the handle, before steadily my feet dragged me to greet whoever had decided to pay a visit.

 

Turning the knob, I was surprised to see who was on the other side. A light-skinned male I was acquainted with stood there, looking a bit troubled. “Oh, Hajime. Is there something wrong?” As soon as I said it, the thought hit me—I had been saying his name so informally the whole time. He probably thought I was disrespectful!

 

“Oh god, I’m really sorry. I’ve been calling you by your first name this entire time and I didn’t even think about it! You’ve probably been so uncomfortable… I’ll stop—”

 

“Uh, it’s fine. For some reason, I actually… Don’t really mind. You can keep using it, if you want. I-I’ve actually been calling you by your first name too sometimes, so if anything, I should be the one apologizing.” He looked a bit awkward near the end, frowning a little to himself. It was as if he had only just then realized that he had been doing the same thing when I brought up how I’d been doing it…

 

“No, don’t apologize… Um, well… How about we just agree to call each other by our first names? I asked Nagito to do the same thing, and I’m not one to get bothered by informality myself; I just get worried that other people may be offended if I try to be too friendly with them…”

 

He agreed, “Yeah, most people probably do get upset by that. And I guess that’s a fair arrangement. It’s funny; in reality, I’m usually a bit more apprehensive about things like this, but right now I don’t really mind… I wonder why…?” The last part sounded as if it was more directed to himself.

 

It certainly was strange, how we’d both been so casual toward one another from the very beginning… But I couldn’t think about it for too long when I realized we had gone completely off topic.

 

“Right, I almost forgot; you had a reason for coming to see me, right?” I finally brought up what I’d first been wondering.

 

He scratched the back of his neck and looked to the side, perhaps a little embarrassed, “Uh, well, I came to get you since we’re all supposed to go to the restaurant. And I also wanted to know if… You were really okay.”

 

For a moment, I had no idea what he was referring to, but then it hit me. My mouth curved upwards, touched at his lingering concern. He must have been more than a little worried to come check up on me. I was starting to feel guilty for getting us side-tracked.

 

“I appreciate your concern for my well-being… Hajime. I’m uh, completely fine though, so don’t trouble yourself over me—I don’t want you losing sleep on my behalf.” I giggled at the end, the last part meaning to be a joke, and an attempt to alleviate the mood.

 

“A-Ah, it’s not that I…!” He started to look a bit flustered, which made me laugh even more.

 

“Relax a bit~ I was just kidding. Really though, you’re very considerate for worrying about me under these circumstances.” I kept smiling.

 

The ahoge haired male calmed himself, “I don’t think it’s too unnatural to worry at a time like this… But I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

 

His tone turned complex with his next sentence as he sighed. “I can’t help but think though… This whole situation… I don’t know what to make of it. A traitor, our memories being stolen…? It all just seems too surreal. It’s too different from the ordinary life I’ve been living up until now.” Our situation was visibly taking a toll on him, but just like everyone else, he tried not to let it show.

 

“We can’t conclude anything about the traitor right now… But one thing I know for certain at least, is that my memory was _without a doubt,_ stolen.” I spoke flatly.

 

“Huh? But, how do you know that for sure…?” Hajime asked in astonishment. He never heard my quiet conversation with Nagito last night, since everyone was talking over us when we conversed.

 

“It’s kind of hard to explain. I don’t exactly have physical evidence, but ever since before I entered the classroom at Hope’s Peak, I’ve felt strange, as if I wasn’t entirely myself. As if something inside of my head or body had been cut off, and I haven’t been able to recover it. And all the while I was thinking—”

 

“(Y/N)-chan? Hajime? What are you guys doing?” A familiar voice broke through my train of thought, leaving my explanation temporarily forgotten, and unheard.

 

His white locks flowed with the tropical breeze as he strode his way over to us, an inquiring look working its way to his face.

 

“Hey Nagito; I was just telling Hajime why I thought I… We, might have had our memories erased.” I corrected myself.

 

“Oh, I see. But I think you should probably wait until we’ve heard what Byakuya’s had to say at least before starting a discussion, since he’ll be waiting and all.” His expression held that familiar smile.

 

Though I wanted to fully explain my reasoning to Hajime, I knew it was best to leave it be for now, lest I had to deal with an irritated corporate heir for being late…

 

“Yes, you’re right. I’ll head over right now.”

 

“Err, I guess I’ll go with you, since I’m already here and it wouldn’t really make sense to leave at separate times...” The tie wearing boy reasoned. I nodded, starting by walking off of the boardwalk toward the hotel.

 

“I’ll tag along as well, if you don’t mind.” Nagito said as he appeared by my side.

 

“You should know by now that I don’t mind.” I chuckled, causing him to as well.

 

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t want to be rude and force you to be around me~”

 

“I don’t think you’ve ever _forced_ me to be around you, all of those times when you were around me, I was completely okay with it. Still, the fact that your so respectful of personal space is something to be admired.” I found myself complimenting him again.

 

“Ah…y-you say that, but… It’s really not that big of a deal.” He stuttered, undoubtedly not being used to flattery.

 

“There you go again. I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that you’re really not comfortable receiving compliments.”

 

“Well, I…”

 

At our banter, Hajime only exhaled loudly.

 

After a moment, Nagito abruptly changed the topic, his voice changing with an emotion I couldn’t quite identify. “Still though… I can’t help but think about the fact that… Not everyone is as strong as Byakuya.”

 

I stopped and looked at him, focusing on his words, making everyone stop with me. I could almost feel a hint of something, some negative sentiment, from the way he talked. “I’ve never…thought about having to overcome anything before… It’s not like I’d just run away from my problems, but…” He trailed off, his gaze down at the ground the entire time.

 

“It’s more like, I was just living my life without even thinking about them at all. Even so, I was still able to live……But this is different.”

 

 Then, as if catching himself doing something he wasn’t suppose to, he looked at the two of us, almost sweating with nervousness as his hands came up as a shield. “Ah, I’m sorry. I was being too negative…”

 

Hajime spoke in a calm voice, “No, I understand… I’m the same as well.”

 

I nodded, “There’s nothing to be sorry about. That’s the way you’ve lived your life; there’s no shame in that. …I’m someone who never wants to face their problems head on either, but I also understand that that is impossible in these conditions.”

 

I tried to be as reassuring as possible as I added, “I want us to all be able to face this problem together, and overcome it. Though it may seem impossible… If all of us work together, then I believe we can really get out of here.”

 

Nagito looked at us with a hint of contentment. “Hah… Now that we’ve talked, I feel assured once again. You’re right; being loners won’t get us anywhere… We should all help each other out. I think we need to get stronger.”

 

“An ordeal like this is what’ll make us cling to hope…” He supplied absentmindedly. He was clearly thinking about something when he said it, but I didn’t question it.

 

“Y-Yeah… You’re probably right…” Our spiky haired companion replied, also seemingly lost in thought.

 

They were both deep into their own minds, and as much as I would have loved to pry, I forced myself to refrain. Whatever they were thinking about, it was their business…

 

Besides, they may confide in me eventually if we get to know each other better.

 

We ran into Hiyoko, Mahiru and Mikan in front of the hotel. Hiyoko complained about not being able to sleep in and wanting sweets for breakfast, Mahiru was depressed and thought aloud about having a girls-only get together, which she promptly added she would invite me to if it happened, and Mikan timidly tried to warn Hiyoko that eating sweets for breakfast was very bad for your health, to which she replied to with a cold remark.

 

“Hiyoko, Mikan’s only showing her concern for you.” I sighed.

 

“Hmph; I don’t need someone as trashy as her to worry about me.” The small girl huffed, turning her face away with a scowl.

 

I turned to Mikan, who looked on the verge of tears. “Don’t take anything she says personally Mikan. I have a feeling she’s just taking out her own frustrations on those around her.” I said this quietly so the pig-tailed girl wouldn’t hear me.

 

She looked shocked, before nodding rapidly, wiping her tears and displaying a tiny smile. “I-I’ll try not to, e-even if it hurts… Thank you, (Y/N)-san.”

 

“Don’t worry about it. And (Y/N) is just fine, if you want.”

 

“Ahhh! I’m sorry, I made a mistake again and called you something you didn’t like! I’m so sorry…!” She began blubbering in panic.

 

Quick to comfort her, I laughed and said brightly, “Like I said, don’t worry about it! You can call me whatever you want, I won’t mind.”

 

“A-Are… You sure…? I-I don’t want you to b-be mad at me! I’ll j-just call you by your regular name f-from now on i-if that what you want…!”

 

The way her behavior went from zero to a hundred and back again so frequently almost made my head spin. I silently made a promise to myself to hang out with her sometime soon, to try and learn what could have made her this way…

 

It was to be expected, but the few of us who had arrived at the restaurant, not one of us said a word. I was also surprised at how early we were; not even Byakuya had arrived. It was just silent for a while… In fact, no one really spoke until everyone had arrived.

 

Unexpectedly again, Byakuya was one of the late ones this time. Thinking it was because he may have just been preparing himself for what he was going to say here, I didn’t dwell on it too much.

 

“Is everyone here?” He asked with his usual annoyed expression.

 

“…Huh? It seems Fuyuhiko is not here yet.” Chiaki piped up as she surveyed the area.

 

Hiyoko giggled evilly, “Hehe, maybe he already got killed…”

 

“Gyaaah! Dead bodies already!?” Ibuki freaked.

 

Peko gave a poker-face. “Don’t go killing people off… I saw him outside earlier…. However, he told me he would not be joining us this morning.”

 

Mahiru’s hand made a gesture in the air as she let out an exasperated, “Why does he have to act like a lone wolf at a time like this…?”

 

Awkwardly, the brightly dressed mechanic suggested, “C-Could he… Is he thinking up a plan to kill someone by himself…?”

 

“Kazuichi! You should not doubt your friend!” Sonia was immediate in her scolding.

 

Kazuichi defended, “Well, he’s a yakuza, isn’t he? Do you understand what that means? He’s part of the Japanese mafia!”

 

“I presume he’s the kind of person who would not come even if we summoned him…” Byakuya waved it off. “I guess it can’t be helped… We should just talk among ourselves. Someone can fill him in later.”

 

Hajime confusedly mumbled, “Talk…? What are we going to talk about?”

 

I figured it would have something to do with our memories. Something to do with the possibility of a traitor.

 

“Rejoice… I have decided to throw a party tonight.”

 

_It was none of those things._

 

“A p-party…?” The familiar stutter of Mikan filled the quiet of the room.

 

Byakuya nodded shortly. “That’s right. A huge party that will last from sundown to sunrise.”

 

Ibuki clutched her cheeks in shock, “Party till the sun comes up!?”

 

Before any more outbursts, the heir continued forcefully, “Just so we’re clear, I will not allow any absences. Your attendance at this party is absolutely mandatory.”

 

“H-Hey… Now’s not the time to talk about stuff…like partying!” Soda exclaimed while holding his black beanie.

 

Byakuya folded his arms, “On the contrary…there is no better time than this…”

 

That piqued my interest.

 

_‘Why would now be the best time for something like that? To lighten up our spirits…?’_

My eyes narrowed. It wouldn’t be too strange to want to do something fun to revive us from the misery of all these horrible mysteries that were thrust upon us, but a party?

 

It suddenly felt as if something was off. I began to have a bit of a bad feeling, almost as if… there was a sense of something sinister on the horizon…

 

“But still…we really shouldn’t be partying…” Mahiru spoke in mild protest.

 

“…Um, hold on.” I forced myself back into attention as I heard the voice of my tall friend.

 

He held his finger to his chin with a concentrated look, as if in deep thought, his gaze trailing to the side. “I agree with Byakuya… It doesn’t do us any good to stay bummed out like this…”

 

More certainty came to his words as he spoke with his finger now pointing to his temple; “In fact, because of the situation we’re in, it’s probably best if we all strengthen our friendships with one another.”

 

He turned to Byakuya with a bright smile, “That’s what you thought too, right? That’s why you want to throw a party.”

 

The way Nagito agreed so easily with Byakuya’s decision… Perhaps he really was trying his best to have us all get along better, so we can be able to trust in each other and work together to escape. If so, the thought made me happy.

 

But why did I still have such a bad feeling…? My premonition intensified when Byakuya next spoke.

 

“It doesn’t matter why I’m doing it… Anyway…it is of vital importance that we all stay in one place tonight.” His words lingered ominously, as though he was trying to convey some sort of important message to the rest of us, though only vaguely so.

 

“You say that with such significance,” Gundham pointed out.

 

Almost as if he were ignoring the remark, the large boy declared, “It’s decided! We’re having ourselves a party!”

 

“E-Even so…I’m not sure it needs to last all night…,” Our shaky nurse spoke with an almost embarrassed smile.

 

The Togami scoffed at her, his eyes flashing dangerously; “…If I thought that, I would have made that clear from the beginning.”

 

His forceful demeanor and harsh words sent her into a stuttering, teary mess. “I-I-I’m terribly sorry! I’m so, so sorry for trying to meddle with your plan!”

 

Nekomaru crossed his arms with a concentrated frown; “It’s important to be flexible in situations like this… Perhaps a diversion from all of this is just what we need.”

 

That may have been true, but…

 

This feeling…

 

“Then let’s party hard!” Akane grinned wolfishly.

 

“Ah, in that case, I’ll put my amazing cooking skills on display for you guys,” The swirly haired chef proclaimed proudly.

 

“Where is the party going to be held? Would this restaurant be okay?” Chiaki pointed to her chin absentmindedly as she spoke.

 

Byakuya readjusted his spectacles as he thought; “No, this won’t do… We need a location that’s impervious to interference from outsiders. A place Monokuma cannot enter… What we need is an enclosed space.”

 

Gamer-girl slanted her head, “…An enclosed space?”

 

The dark-clothed breeder closed his eyes as he added in, “If the restaurant won’t do, then neither will the lobby… That’s not nearly enclosed enough.”

 

“Nor will the cottages… With so many people, we would all be pressed up against each other,” Sonia helped with crossing off potential locations, but I knew right away that her phrasing would attract a certain _hormonal_ Ultimate.

 

“But if you want to be pressed up against each other, then a cottage is clearly the best choice!” The way TeruTeru said it was as if he thought it was the obvious choice to have party. His nose ran a thin line of blood as he murmured enthusiastically, “Pressing up against ladies…without sneaking aboard the women-only train in drag… I feel so lucky.”

 

“I can’t believe how comfortable you are with saying your perverted thoughts out loud…,” Kazuichi responded incredulously.

 

TeruTeru combed through his hair slyly, “Mmhmhm, I may be a pervert, but I’m the kind of pervert everybody likes!”

 

“Your confidence is seriously impressive…,” The mechanic replied, a few beads of sweat dropping in near bafflement.

 

Going back on track, Nagito piped up, “Then…how about that old-looking building near this hotel?”

 

“…That run-down place?” Chiaki’s starship barrette swayed with her hair as she moved quizzically.

 

He smiled in confirmation, “Yeah, but if we do our best to clean it, I think it’d be perfect. Plus, it’s basically the only place that meets our needs for an enclosed space, right?”

 

He brought up a good point; that was the only place I could think of that was big enough to house all of us at once, while also being a closed-in area. It’s almost as though he’d really thought it through before bringing it up, but that wouldn’t be too surprising. He seemed pretty positive about the whole idea, and that was good! He had no reason _not_ to be onboard.

 

“Indeed. However, Monomi has forbidden us from entering that old place. As I recall…it’s in the middle of being renovated.”

 

Now that Peko had mentioned it, I did recall Monomi explicitly saying that the building was off limits due to renovation or repairs once.

 

And then, in response to Peko’s hanging doubt, the very two-toned robot we’d been talking about sprang up from the wooden floor, paw raised high in greeting.

 

“I have heard your conversation! Heard it all with my very own ears!” She put her hands on her sides (or hips?) in pride, “Ahem! I have good ears! Cuz I’m a rabbit!”

 

“Oh, so you use your ears. That’s strange…,” Byakuya trailed off, unconvinced.

 

Monomi tilted her head, “Huh?”

 

The heir eyed her carefully, “Then what is the reason for those surveillance cameras? Are they for Monokuma’s eyes only?”

 

Monomi didn’t respond, she only looked down, a defeated expression coloring her face.

 

“Ah, she looks so disappointed!” Ibuki felt the need to point this out, even though it was already obvious; I felt sympathy for the pink and white android.

 

“Well, it is of no concern… We can settle that issue another time...,” The suited boy regarded with indifference. He straightened up with a serious look with his next sentence, “Regarding the old building! You came to tell us something about it, right!?”

 

“Yes, if it strengthens everyone’s bonds with each other, then I will not hesitate to cooperate,” the rabbit said, already recovered. She then raised her arm cheerfully, “So in that case, I will allow you to enter the old building! I’ll cooperate so we can all party together!”

 

With a completely innocent smile, Hiyoko spoke without a hint of remorse; “Together? That’s not gonna happen ‘cause you’re *so* disgusting.” The smile twisted into a smirk as she kept going, “Do yourself a favor and stay away from mirrors. You’ll be grossed out by what you see.”

 

“Hiyoko, I’m becoming more and more concerned about your lack of sympathy,” I rubbed my temples tiredly.

 

She turned to me, rolling her eyes; “Huh? What are you talking about? You should just mind your own business, bookworm.”

 

“I would be happy to, if you would stop insisting on belittling everyone,” I responded evenly. “No matter what reasons you have, I ask that you please consider the effect your words might have on someone.”

 

At this, she turned away, pouting. “Humph—I can’t believe we have such a white knight it this group,” she said sulkily, but said no more.

 

“Ugh… Your kind words make me wanna cry…” Monomi sniffled at me. “Thank you…”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied gently. I didn’t want that small girl to harass anyone, so that was why I would continue to intervene, but at the same time I didn’t want to reprimand her too harshly…

 

My eyes hardened.

 

 _‘But if she continues with this, I can’t promise I’ll be lenient if she takes it too far.’_  

 

“…Then what about the preparations? If it’s in the middle of a renovation, don’t we need to clean it first?” The redhead’s voice brought my focus back to the conversation.

 

That wouldn’t be surprising; the building appeared fairly old, and there was no doubt a lot of areas inside that hadn’t been tended to in a while.

 

Sonia’s eyes lit up in wonder, “I have never done the dirty work known as ‘cleaning’ before. I am excited to finally experience it!”

 

“No way! There’s no way we can dirty our dear princess’s hands!” Kazuichi looked appalled.

 

The pig-tailed blonde recoiled, “Nyeeeh, I don’t wanna do it either!”

 

“What… Nobody’s going to do it…?”

 

After a brief pause, I cleared my throat. “Well, I don’t particularly like cleaning… But I’m willing to do it if I get assistance from at least one of you.”

 

“Well in that case, I would be happy to—”

 

“Thank you for offering (Y/N)-chan, but instead of that, why don’t we decide by random drawing?” Nagito had piped up with a smile, effectively cutting off TeruTeru. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was on purpose; he always seemed awfully concerned when it came to that boy and girls being alone with him.

 

“You don’t have to do that, as I said, I would be fine with doing it as long as I could divide the work up with someone else,” I affirmed, ignoring the bad vibes I was getting from the whole situation.

 

His eyes slid to mine, his smile growing softer. “I know, and it’s not that I don’t think you’re capable, but I think it would be more fair this way; I don’t want you to get stuck with all the work by yourself in case no one decides to help you, especially when you’re already doing so much to help us.”

 

His praise was disarmingly sweet, and I was taken aback, so much so that I could only nod rigidly.

 

“But I already said, if it’s with (Y/N)-chan, I would gladly—”

 

“You’re already on kitchen duty; we couldn’t possibly trouble you with the burden of doing both of these at once,” Nagito reasoned.

 

He turned to the rest of us, positively beaming. “To be honest, I already prepared a drawing because I assumed something like this would happen.” He pulled out a large bundle of sticks from his pocket.

 

That struck me as odd; he figured something like this would happen beforehand? Was he a person who always prepared ahead of time for unlikely scenarios?

 

“Whoever draws the chopstick with the red mark will be in charge of cleaning, okay?” He held out the sticks for us to choose, “Does that sound fair?”

 

Gundham struck a sort of pose, “Well then, let us entrust our destinies to the whims of this drawing!”

 

“Well, no hard feelings,” Mahiru declared, and we all began drawing a stick from Nagito’s hands. I reached down, picking one resting against his thumb, before dragging it out in time with the rest of the group.

 

We all looked at our sticks, and I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t spot a red mark on the end of my own. There was only a small percentage that I would have ended up with it, after all.

 

After a few moments with people exclaiming in victory, a voice broke out over the rest.

 

“Huh? I’m left with the red mark?!” Nagito looked at his stick in disbelief.

 

Hajime laughed slightly as he said to him, “Haha… For someone called the Ultimate Lucky Student, you don’t seem very lucky right now…”

 

“Hmm, I guess it can’t be helped…,” he responded sheepishly. And almost as if he sensed my oncoming protest, he grinned at me. “Well, if it’s just cleaning, leave it to me. I’m actually pretty good at it.”

 

The photographer chimed in, “I thought so. You seem like you’d make a good stay-at-home dad.”

 

He looked at her unsurely, “…I’ll take that as a compliment.”

 

I couldn’t help but laugh a little. “I’m sure it was; you have a lot of good qualities about you, Nagito. Like your concern for others… I’m still really touched that you stayed with me when I was past out the whole time when we first got here.”

 

He looked at me nervously, “W-Well, that just seemed like a given… I wouldn’t have wanted anything to happen to you while you were unconscious…” It was quick, but I saw his eyes land on TeruTeru for a moment, and I instantly knew what he was getting at.

 

_‘Poor TeruTeru; he seems kind of misunderstood—I don’t think he would really do anything like that…’_

“Well, whatever your reasons were, I’m grateful for it, so thank you.”

 

“It’s no problem, really!” Watching him become so uncomfortable under approval was entertaining in a way.

 

“Hm; anyway, I’ll handle the cooking,” The plump chef stated. “All right, first I need to prepare my ingredients, then I’ll start cooking at the old building.” He then proclaimed loudly, “I, TeruTeru Hanamura, will go all out! I will prepare the world’s tastiest dishes for you all!”

 

“Then I just need to pass along the party details to Fuyuhiko,” Peko closed her vermillion eyes in acceptance.

 

“Let’s go about our business then. After Monokuma’s nightly announcement, we’ll meet at the old building,” Byakuya spoke for the first time in a little while.

 

After a series of nods and sounds of agreement, most of us began to depart from the restaurant. I waved at Nagito, promising to visit him later to see how he was doing.

 

“Ah, th-there’s no need for you to do that,” he denied politely. “I’ll be fine; you don’t have to worry about me.”

 

“Alright, well…just tell me if you need a hand, okay? I’m ready to help whenever. I was also hoping we could chat a bit,” I replied, shrugging, “But if you’re that insistent, I won’t interfere.”

 

Nagito looked away, a bit nervous. “I’m flattered… I promise I’ll talk to you as soon as I’m done cleaning. You have my word on it.” He then smiled, waving slightly at me, “I’ll see you then.”

 

“See ya.”

 

 When he left, I went over to the table of food and grabbed a sizeable stack of pancakes, loading it with syrup.

 

As I began cutting a piece of one flapjack with my knife, I heard a hesitant voice call out, “Eh, (Y/N)-chan? Isn’t that a bit much for one person?”

 

I turned around questioningly, wondering who was still here. Hajime.

 

Shoving the piece into my mouth, I chewed languidly before swallowing. “Maybe. But I need to keep my energy up somehow.”

 

He stepped toward me with one foot, tentatively, gaging my reaction. I waved him over with my hand, silently telling him he could join me. He took the rest of the steps toward me.

 

“Why do you need so much food to do that, though? I can understand keeping your energy up, but this seems a little excessive…” He pointed out, taking a seat next to me.

 

I continued eating, weighing out my response. I didn’t want to tell him the real reason, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure what excuse to give him. I swallowed again before lamely saying, “I just eat a lot sometimes…”

 

“O-Oh.” He responded, not prying any further. There was a silence between us as I ate, and I flickered my gaze to the boy, seeing a conflicted expression.

 

“…Did you come to me because you wanted to hear the rest of my explanation?”

 

“W-Well, kind of…” He stammered, suddenly looking tense. “It’s just been bothering me ever since we talked about it, and I want to know your reasons behind your thoughts.”

 

I nodded, taking a moment to gather my thoughts. With a deep breath, I continued with my earlier elucidation. “It’s just, for the last couple of days… Ever since we came to this island, in the back of my mind, I… It felt like I’d forgotten something, something important, but I had no idea what. Even now, my brain registers that there’s something I cannot seem to recall, no matter how hard I concentrate on it.”

 

Looking straight into his pale green eyes, my voice lowered, “It’s not like me to believe in something so strongly when there is lacking proof, trust me— but I know I feel it. It’s something I can’t turn away from or deny. Nonetheless… You have every right to believe or disbelieve when I say that; I won’t force you to think as I do. I just thought that maybe you should know.”

 

He frowned as he looked like he was struggling to comprehend something, and I immediately felt a bit guilty. That was just one more thing I’d added to his palate of things to worry about; I should have just kept who knew my thoughts to a minimum. I knew I was going to strive even harder for the truth now, and I was fully willing to do it myself.

 

My tone grew softer with my next words, “Look, Hajime… Just forget about it, alright? You don’t need to trouble yourself any more over it, because no matter what, I’ll find out the facts soon enough. It’s something I already promised myself I would do, so this is just even more incentive to do so. I shouldn’t have stressed you out more than you probably already were…” I trailed off as I realized the change in the boy in front of me, his face had almost… stiffened a bit, as though he’d finished working out something.

 

“No, (Y/N)-chan… I’m… I’m actually glad you told me this. I’m not sure what the truth is yet, but I’m sure that, somehow, we’ll find it. And while you did say that you would find the answers on your own… I would also like to help out a bit, if you don’t mind.”

 

Hajime’s resolved tone of voice shocked me. The fact that this somewhat timid, honest boy, had actually made up his mind that he’d actually wanted to assist me? My heart fluttered in my chest at the realization.

 

“If you really want to, I won’t stop you. But just so you know, you can leave it to me if you change your mind,” I said eventually.

 

“Thanks but, I know what I want to do. I’d feel bad leaving you to do this all by yourself, when it really should be all of us working together to find out what’s going on,” he smiled, only slightly, but it was a true smile.

 

I exhaled, albeit shakily, “Thank you, Hajime…”

 

Glancing down at my pancakes, there was still more then a few stacked on top of each other. I let out a little sound of a laugh. “Well, I’d better finish these…”

 

“Um, are you sure you can really eat all of that…?” Hajime looked vaguely concerned as he sweat-dropped.

 

I waved him off casually, “I’ll be fine. A good breakfast is just what a person needs before starting the day after all.”

 

I began staring pointedly at him, “Maybe you should be eating _more,_ now that I think about it—you never eat very much in the morning. Why is that?”

 

“Err, it’s probably just a habit,” he uttered, looking more and more uneasy. “It’s not like I’m not getting enough food in my system, I just don’t try to eat excessively.” ‘ _Unlike you’,_ were the unspoken words I knew he was thinking.

 

Another piece of pancake shoveled into my mouth and down my throat, “Ah well, it’s not really my place to hound you about your eating habits, anyway. All you need to keep in mind is to just be careful of how you treat your body. When you don’t pay attention to it, that’s how you get ill.”

 

I kept shoving food down my gullet, aware of the questioning look Hajime was staring at me with. Maybe he’d sensed the double meaning in my words; I couldn’t help wondering.

 

“Right, I’ll try to keep that in mind,” He mumbled.

 

I chomped on the last morsel of the syrup-covered delight, before wiping my hands and face with a napkin. “I need to think about where to investigate next, so I’ll be going on ahead. I might come find you and share any details I have with you later on.”

 

He stood up as I did, watching as I readied myself to depart. “A-Alright. I’ll go back to my cabin for now, too. I guess I’ll see you later then?”

 

I nodded, muttering a ‘yeah, bye for now’ over my shoulder before making a hasty retreat down the stairs, leaving Hajime to take the other exit. Once more, another beeping sound alerted me to my upgraded report card, and I sighed, a miniscule smile appearing soon after.

 

So far, my relationships seemed to be going well…

 

I could only hope that things would continue to progress the more time I spent with everyone.

 

 _‘Assuming we aren’t all massacred’_ , my mind added gloomily. My head shook automatically to rid myself of such thoughts. What I really needed to be considering is where the next best place for clues would be.

 

All the different places we had access to came to mind. Rocket Punch Market, the airport, Usami’s Corral, Mirai Hotel, the beach… There was also the other island. For now, another look around at Jabberwock Park sounded like a good idea.

 

Several points of interest would be the forest areas, the stand for the statue, the countdown device… Perhaps it would also do some good to try and find a way to get around the Monobeasts in order to explore the other islands, if there was just some way to divert their attention. Maybe Monomi would agree to cause a disruption, luring one or maybe all of them away from there posts… But there wouldn’t be any guarantee that Monokuma wouldn’t interfere, he might even invent new school guidelines to prevent us from attempting anything again.

 

In that case, I should try to be as non-conspicuous as possible during my explorations. If there wasn’t anything at Jabberwock Park, I could try and search through the luggage at the airport; a long shot, but you never know what could be hidden somewhere until you try to see for yourself…

 

As I had been walking along distractedly, a sudden loud, rowdy voice echoed in my eardrums.

 

“Halt, woman! Heed my words now, lest you be reduced to cinder for your foolish carelessness!”

 

I stopped cold, turning around leisurely. “Ah, greetings Tanaka-san. May I be blessed with the knowledge of what you refer to?” I could hardly stop myself from smiling. It was probably best to play along with him, at least a little bit. After contemplating over it for a while since we’d known each other, I had finally decided that the chuunibyou way he spoke was adorable.

 

Kind of.

 

A smirk wove its way into his pale face, apparently pleased with my answer, “Keheheh, I see you have some semblance of wisdom after all. As for my words, it is a warning to you. Only fools that lack wit would be so reckless as to let down their guard whilst among so many strangers. You must maintain focus, or risk becoming weak; prey for the almighty and powerful!”

 

He did always seem to have a flair for the dramatic. It wasn’t too hard to find the real meaning in his words; he was trying to express his concern for me, in his own way.

 

I must have appeared more out of it then I thought…

 

“I apologize, Tanaka-san. I was concentrating so hard on places to explore on the islands, I must have left myself open to attack. I’ll try not to let it happen again. Actually…” I trailed off, an idea presenting itself.

 

_‘Do I want to spend time with Gundham?_

_‘…Yes.’_

“Did you want to converse for a while longer? It would be an honor for the Supreme Overlord of Ice to aid me in my search for the truth.”

 

The purple scarf-wearing boy looked at me, almost uncertain, before saying quietly, “You wish to have my help…?”

 

“Of course! You seem like a very capable ruler, Tanaka-san,” I said this with a bit of genuine honesty. From what I could gather, he was an intelligent boy, if a little strange, though his strangeness was a part of his overall charm.

 

He recovered almost instantly, his lips pulled into a simper. “You have good fortune today girl, for I am feeling generous enough to lend you some of my energy! _Ahahahahahaha!”_ He let out a loud, diabolical laugh, as if he truly were a villain.

 

It was hard not to laugh alongside him, but I restrained myself, only allowing a grateful smile to show.

 

I ended up spending a bit of time with Gundham Tanaka, looking for clues at the ranch because that was the nearest location for us at the time. I think we might have gotten a bit closer actually…

 

 

“Thank you very much for today, Tanaka-san. I’m happy that you would help me with this, I’m very grateful,” I expressed my gratitude as I wiped my hands of straw and dirt; the barn floor was fairly filthy, after all.

 

“Heh, it was a facile endeavor, I hadn’t even needed to use any of my strength! But let me ask—what of your condition? I cannot imagine a mere human girl would be able to endure that much and remain unfatigued.” He asked in his usual tone with a neutral expression, but the question made me happy nevertheless.

 

He really was concerned…

 

“It was a little exhausting, but I’m sure I’ll be fine after I take a small break,” I replied, trying not to worry him.

 

He turned away, the bottom half of his face shrouded by his scarf. “Hmph; you say that, but I don’t believe this to be a job for a woman with such feeble stamina. I was willing to assist in your exploration this day, but tomorrow or after then you may not be so lucky. Take that as you will.”

 

I nodded, smiling, “I will take your words into consideration. Thank you, your lordship.”

 

“Excellent. Now onto other matters! I have already asked that Hajime Hinata boy, but ended with meager results, so now it is your turn; what is your true name, girl? I know it is not simply (Y/N) (L/N).”

 

I was a bit baffled by the question; true name? He probably wants me to answer with some sort of fancy title that reeked with power, but…

 

I tried to come up with something cool, but my mind was drawing a blank. A true name…

 

Without thinking, I blurted out the best thing I could think of, “My true name… I won’t tell you yet.”

 

He scowled, “What? Oh, so you don’t want to reveal it to me? Afraid that I may destroy you once I recognize it? In that case, a wise decision… You may be someone whom is a threat to me after all, disguised as a meek, human girl…”

 

And then he began to laugh; “Yes, that must be it! Well, you should indeed be frightened! Trembling with terror at the strength of my magic, hidden beneath the surface of my appearance. You may be safe for now, but do not forget—I will be biding my time, awaiting the moment of you making the grand error that will surely seal your doom! I must go for now, but don’t think you’ve escaped! Until we meet again, mystery girl! Ahahahaha~!” He then made his grand exit, laughing all the way, until he was out of sight.

 

I stood stock-still, dumbfounded.

 

_‘Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to say that…’_

But the signature beeping in my pocket said otherwise.

 

_‘Obtained Hope Fragment. Gundham’s report card has been updated based on your experience with him.’_

Despite Gundham’s strange tendencies, there was something about him that I couldn’t help but find almost endearing. I found myself wanting to get closer to him, to be his friend… I’m glad I was able to spend time with him today.

As I was about to put my eHandbook back into my pocket, I felt a slip of paper, so I ended up pulling it out, and when I did I felt myself frown. It was the Kiss Note; I’d forgotten to hand it over to TeruTeru when I hung out with him…

 

“Well, on the bright side, I can just give it to him next time,” I reasoned aloud. With that resolved, I went back up the path to go to the Hotel. The sky was already turning a shade of navy blue, so Monokuma’s announcement probably wasn’t too far behind.

 

I hurried along, my eyes struggling to adjust to the rapidly decreasing sky light. At least it was unlikely that I would trip on sand.

 

On one hand, I wanted to find Hajime and tell him that my search hadn’t uncovered anything, but on the other, I knew that it would be best to wait until the party was over, because at this rate it would no doubt be starting in a short while.

 

“Oh, (Y/N)-chan! There you are,” Nagito exclaimed as he came out of the gate leading to the hotel area.

 

I walked up to him quickly, “Oh, sorry… You were looking for me?”

 

He nodded, but speedily added, “Yeah, but don’t worry about it! I didn’t have to look very far, I only just started trying to find you. Everything is all set for the party. I cleaned the entire dining hall, and put in some decorations, while TeruTeru managed to cook an entire feast for everyone! With everyone there, it should be fun.”

 

“Wow, that sounds good,” I spoke lightly, giddiness tugging at my gut.

 

He chuckled, “I’m glad that you think so~ Come on, the announcement should play any minute now. Being a little early probably won’t make a difference.”

 

We went along, spying Ibuki, Mikan and Peko who were also a bit excited.

 

“I told Fuyuhiko about the party, but he seemed like he didn’t want anything to do with it… He told me to tell everyone he wouldn’t be attending,” Peko said quietly.

 

Uh oh, Byakuya probably wasn’t going to like that…

 

Nagito’s smile dropped slightly, “Maybe since it’s only one person, he won’t mind?”

 

We would have to hope that was the case. The feeling of dread that had been with me earlier, came back strong enough that I had to try to push it back down. It was just a party. Nothing would happen…

 

But the smidgen of anxiousness wouldn’t dissipate.

 

Monokuma’s announcement began to play as the monitors turned on; “Ahem! Hope’s Peak Academy’s School Trip Executive Committee has an announcement to make… It is now 10:00 p.m. Please return to your rooms and relax. Let the sound of the ocean gently rock you to sleep. Now then, sweet dreams everyone. Good _niiiiight…_ ”

 

We pushed the old rickety wooden door open, and I was non-too-surprised to see that the inside had the appearance of a regular lodge. The wood looked old, as if it hadn’t been used in a while. There was a reception desk, and Byakuya was standing beside it, waiting.

 

“Hello, Togami-sa—”

 

“Come here and raise your arms over your head.” He didn’t even let me finish my sentence before he began barking orders.

 

I let the sentence drop, calmly striding over to where he stood. I rose my arms.

 

Nagito looked on in surprise, “You’re very calm, (Y/N)-chan…”

 

“I can understand wanting to do a body check, just to be cautious…,” I replied as the heirs’ large hands patted down my person, checking each area thoroughly. I might have been more reluctant if it were someone else, but I knew Byakuya’s intentions were just.

 

_‘Still, to be this cautious… Is a bit curious.’_

 

He stood up with a short grunt, pushing up his glasses; “No dangerous items. You can go ahead.” He turned to Nagito, a stern look in his eye, “I already checked you earlier, but you went outside to retrieve this one. Tell me, (L/N), did Nagito take anything while you were with him?”

 

“No, as soon as he found me, we went straight here,” I responded automatically.

 

“I see… But there was still a window of opportunity when you two weren’t together, so I need to check you as well.” Togami then began to search the kind boy as well.

 

“You’re fine as well. In that case, hurry on in. I need to make sure to check over everyone and you two are distracting.”

 

Nagito nodded, a weak smile coming to his lips, “F-Fair enough… Let’s get going, (Y/N).”

We walked past the large figure and went on our way to the dining hall, briefly running into TeruTeru who made a perverted comment about ‘kissing the chef’. Nagito made up an excuse and dragged me away before I could even reply.

 

In the dining hall, there were already a lot of people. The room had four tables; one long with a cream-colored cloth over it and a lamp, the other three were stacked to the brim with a variety of dishes, all which looked delectable and mouth-watering. There was a sizeable striped carpet that covered most of the floor, and paper chain decorations hung from the ceiling. All in all, it looked nice, excluding the ominous large sheets of metal with giant screws keeping it in place over what I assumed to be the rooms’ windows.

 

“Geez Ko, you did a really good job setting everything up. I like the decorations.”

 

My comment made my light-hearted friend grin brightly at me, “Really? I was so busy cleaning everything that I didn’t have enough time to ornament it as much as I wanted, but I’m thankful to hear you say that.”

 

I nodded; “It’s simple, but in a good way. I think it really adds to the atmosphere.”

 

Eventually, everyone else began to flood in, Byakuya freaking out about the iron skewers in the churrasco dish before dashing off to the kitchen to find more dangerous items, dragging Hajime with him.

 

I waved to the poor boy as he saw me, pleading with his eyes for me to save him. I mouthed a sympathetic ‘sorry’ as he was fully hauled out of the room.

 

Soon enough, the real party began, TeruTeru coming in every now and then to put more food on the table, which Akane would then proceed to stuff her face with.

 

“I can’t stop my hand from shoving food in my face!” She laughed almost maniacally as she said it, making me grab a plate of chicken cautiously while her mouth was busy mowing down a few legs of meat.

 

I had chatted with a few different people, telling Hajime I would talk to him about the investigation later and having a bizarre conversation with Sonia about Korean dramas.

 

It was while I was talking to Gundham about the challenges of breeding did Nagito approach me again, politely requesting, “I was hoping we could have a chat for a bit? There was something I wanted to say to you.”

 

“We’ll continue soon, milord,” I told the coal haired boy as I followed after Nagito.

 

I could hear his loud voice from behind, “Fine. You may leave for now, but make no mistake, next time, I will not be swayed!”

 

He led me to a corner of the room, beside the long table with the lamp. The voices of everyone drowned out our voices to everyone but the two of us.

 

He exhaled, “Sorry for interrupting, but I just really wanted a chance to talk to you properly.”

 

I shook my head, “No, it’s fine. You seemed like you had something on your mind. So what did you want to talk about?”

 

I patiently waited. For a few moments, he was silent, most likely gathering his thoughts. A truly gentle smile came to him as he finally spoke, “I just wanted…to express my gratitude. You have been so very nice to me, when I’ve done nothing to receive such kindness. I really wanted you to know, how grateful I am.”

 

The softness in his voice made me rigid. Why was he suddenly saying this now? Being nice to someone wasn’t something to thank someone for anyway, it should be expected…

 

“What do you mean? I have no reason to be cruel to you, and you have been nothing but nice to me as well. I really don’t need to be thanked, I am acting now how I have always acted. Kindness should be a given.”

 

“You’re right, but, that isn’t necessarily always the case,” he responded with a light laugh. “I just really needed to say it. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable… You needed to know… How important it is to me, that you treat me like this…”

 

 His smile was small, tender, but then, when I scrutinized Nagito further, I noticed that his smile… It looked almost… _sad_.

 

As I gazed into his eyes, I was still trying to understand why, to find the meaning in his conveying these words to me, when a loud buzzing noise erupted in the room, before everything turned black.

 

For a moment, everything was silent.

 

But after that, the panic was spread instantaneously.

 

“Uwah! It’s a b-blackout!” The voice of Mahiru said from somewhere in the room, before being followed by more cries of panic.

 

“Hey, I can’t see anything!”

 

“I-It’s pitch black! My future is pitch black!”

 

My ears registered a mass number of moving feet stumbling around probably trying to find a light source. I looked this way and that, but my eyes wouldn’t adjust; we really were in total darkness.

 

Mahiru’s voice rose up again, “E-Everyone, calm down! We gotta stay calm in a situation like this!”

 

“Waaaah! Don’t step on my feet!”

 

I was about to start moving around, when I felt something. A warm hand, lightly touching my cheek, caressing it gently.

 

“Ah…!” A gasped ripped out of my mouth, but before I could take action, the sensation faded away, and I was lightly pushed to the ground. I became disoriented, no longer knowing where I was, only that I was sitting on the ground.

 

“W…What…” I whispered, touching the spot where I had felt the hand.

 

“What the hell!? What’s going on here!? …Th-This is…!”

 

“Ow!” I could make out both the voices of Byakuya and Nagito somewhere close by.

 

“Turn the damn lights on! I can’t eat like this, y’know!”

 

“You guys? Where are you? W-Wasn’t the blackout…just in the kitchen?”

 

“Perhaps the breaker overloaded?”

 

The faraway tone of Kazuichi stuttered, “H-Hold on a sec! I’ll go along the wall and…do something about it…!”

 

Moments passed, everyone fearfully muttering among themselves. I patted along the ground, trying to find something near me. I felt the wall close by. And then, as quick as they had turned off, the lights were back on, temporarily blinding me.

 

When my vision cleared, I saw Nagito standing up and brushing himself off not too far away from me, who then proceeded to help me up with a worried face.

 

“A-Are you okay…?” He steadied me, and I nodded. Looking around, everyone was here, looking around in confusion…

 

Hold on.

 

I looked more closely, and an unsettled feeling rose inside me once more, ten times stronger than the last…

 

We were missing someone.

 

_Byakuya was no where in sight.  
_

_~_


	9. Sorry for Not Updating in so Long (A/N)

Hey everyone. As you all can see, this story hasn't been updated in a while, and I decided I'm finally going to explain why. 

 

As I'm sure you could probably guess, I'm the type of person whom has spikes of sudden inspiration very randomly. It can happen at any time and any place; in the middle of a car ride, on the toilet, in the shower, when I'm about to fall asleep, etc. And being very interested in writing and wanting to come up with new ideas, I almost always act on those bursts of creativity whenever I can. This story was brought into being by a mix of inspiration, and quite frankly, raw determination. I was desperate to make this and give Nagito some proper love and recognition, I assure you, because I know he deserves it, and I'm sure you know it too, if you're reading this story in the first place.

 

However, despite my love for this character, I'm unfortunately a person whose motivation is often at an all-time low. I get abrupt bursts of inspiration, but it doesn't take long for the energy to run out. When motivation is not present, if I push any further, my work becomes sloppy, because I'm not putting my heart into it. I'm not enjoying it like I should be; it essentially becomes a chore to continue trying to write more at that point. That's what I'm trying to get at with this; for a while now, any time I try to continue writing the next chapter for this story, the motivation is just not there, and the result of that is completely downgrading my writing quality-- keep in mind, this is a problem with all of my stories for when I lack motivation, not just this one. In all honesty, I don't want to give you all a sub-par chapter. I *do* want to give you my best work. At the present time, this is just not possible. 

 

I hope you can make peace with the fact that I have at least been doing something though; I've been trying to fix it. If I can discover more ways to motivate myself, to give me the inspiration that will put a spring back in my step, then I should be able to eventually get back on track and publish something worthy of being looked at. While I'm trying to find that thing to energize me though, I am officially placing this story under a hiatus of sorts. As soon as I get my inspiration back, the hiatus will be lifted, don't worry.

 

Before ending this note, I want to apologize to everyone whose had to deal with my irregular and random updating; this is just how I am I'm afraid, as sad as that is to say, and until I can find something to help change it, this is how I'll remain. At the same time, I want to thank everyone who has waited thus far. You all must have the patience of a saint ^_^

 

For now, I'm gonna be trying my best to find a way to help me stay focused on my writing, because I do very much want to finish this story. I've also been writing other stuff in the meantime to see if that helps, trying to see if I can get a new perspective and all that, so you may see me posting other stories from time to time if you look at my profile. Anyway, thank you all for reading, and I'm sorry I have to put this fanfic on hold like this, and for not saying anything sooner.


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